Stories on Carlitos
by Baxxie
Summary: To cure writer's block I'm writing Carlos one-shots, all categories. If you have any ideas for this category, let me know ;  Next up: Ch7 Tragedy, after a fight Carlos runs out of 2J and ends up alone in an alley, confronted by two kids and a gun...
1. Masquerade

Serendipity

The guys of Big Time Rush always love a good party, especially the Hollywood Super Kings Of Hollywood, aka James and Carlos. Needless to say, when they receive a mysterious invitation to a Masquerade in downtown LA, they are all ready to go.

The Masquerade is a black tie event with a mask, only giving away the eyes and the mouth. Those invited are allowed to bring dates, but to keep up with the mystery, they have to attend separately.

Kendall and Logan don't hesitate to ask their girlfriends, Jo and Camille. But James and Carlos are going to look for dates at the dance. Because, according to James, this is the perfect way to have a perfect romantic evening with no strings attached. The night is not about looks, meaning anyone can be confident and won't have to worry about what happens, because no one is recognizable.

James has offered to guide Carlos, who still feels nervous and afraid to approach a girl. The pretty boy has told him not to be afraid and be open to anything. Because what happens at the Masquerade stays at the Masquerade.

Kelly was so thrilled about this apparently elite event, she threatene…asked Gustavo to lend the guys the limo. And so they are off in style, in black tuxes, colored shirts underneath (so they can recognize each other better) and white masks. Logan has a red shirt, Kendall a green one, James blue and Carlos purple.

Everyone is excited, except for Carlos, who is very nervous. When the limo pulls up to the exclusive and secret location, he lets out a deep breath. The guys smile at him. Kendall pats his knee.

"It'll be fine, Carlos. There's nothing to be nervous about." He assures his friend.

"Nothing to be nervous about? Have you forgotten about my previous dates? I'm not good at talking to girls. And now I don't even have a date. What if I end up alone all night?" He asks, his voice getting high and squeaky as he becomes more nervous.

"Carlos, you're not going to be alone all night. I said I'd help you get a date, didn't I?" James asks him.

"Just be yourself, buddy and have fun." Logan tells him. Carlos looks at his friends smiling at him reassuringly. He takes a deep breath and smiles back.

"You know what? You're right. James is going to help me find a date and it'll be fun. Best night ever." He says with a big smile. The guys cheer and put their hands together for a cheer together.

_Ten minutes later…_

Carlos stands in the corner with a scowl as he watches James dance with a different girl every song.

"Don't worry, Carlos. I'll help you get a date." He mocks in James' voice. "Stupid James." He mutters.

He scowls when he sees Logan and Kendall happily dancing with their girlfriends, after quickly recognizing them.

Just then James suddenly approaches him with a huge smile.

"Dude, isn't this awesome? I mean, all these girls and I don't even know who they are. I mean, maybe I've dated them, maybe I haven't, you know? Best night ever!" Carlos gives him the best death glare he can from underneath the mask. "What, dude? Aren't you having fun?"

"No, James, I am not having fun." He angrily tells his friend. "You promised you would help me find a date, too. You said you wouldn't leave me here by myself." He reminds the pretty boy, who winces of guilt.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." James says with a sheepish smile. "Well, how about I help you right now?" he offers and starts to look around for a girl, when he suddenly sees a blond girl with a white dress and a golden mask waving in their direction. "Oh, how about her?" He points her out to Carlos, who tilts his head as he gives James a 'are you kidding me' look.

"Dude, she obviously wants to dance with you." Carlos tells him.

"No, I'm sure she's waving at you, buddy." James tries to assure him.

"Just go, James." Carlos tells him dejectedly and walks off towards the snacks table. James tries to follow him, but the blonde girl has already reached him and is pulling him away to dance.

Carlos stands at the snack table, letting out a deep sigh. It's not like he's that helpless. He could ask a girl out by himself. But every time he believes that, he remembers all his previous dates gone wrong and he chickens out.

He heads for the punch and just as he gets ready to grab a cup, he eyes a girl walking up and being bumped into. She loses her footing and is about to fall, when he rushes over and catches her in his arms. He helps her stand.

"Are you okay?" he asks her while she has her back towards him. She turns around to face him. It's when he notices her black curly long hair and blue dress with a black mask.

"Yes, thanks to…" They lock eyes and the world seems to stop. "you…" She breathes out. They stare in each other's eyes. Ocean blue vs chocolate brown.

"Wow… You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen…" Carlos quietly tells her. It's as if all his nerves flew out the window the moment he laid eyes on her.

She can feel the blush rising to her cheeks. She smiles shyly.

"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." She tells him. He smiles back, making her melt on the spot.

"Would you like to dance?" He asks her and holds out his hand. She looks at it for a moment.

"I would love to." She tells him and lays her hand in his. They look at their entwined hands and back at each other. They both felt it, an undeniable spark, unlike anything they've ever felt before. It feels right, natural. In silence they walk onto the dance floor, their eyes staying locked as if in trance. A slow song comes on and the two sway together, their bodies moving together as they gaze into each other's eyes, everyone else around them disappearing.

There is no need for words, just their touch and looking deep in each other's eyes is making them feel as if they've known each other for years. They belong here, together.

"I've never felt like this before." She suddenly says. "I don't know you, but I feel like I've known you for years. I know, it sounds crazy, doesn't it?" She asks and lets her head fall down. He puts a finger underneath her chin and pulls it up.

"It doesn't sound crazy at all." He nearly whispers. They gaze in each other's eyes again and they slowly inch closer. The moment fully takes over and they close their eyes just before their lips meet.

If their hands touching caused a spark, their kiss causes a rain of fireworks. And they're not the only ones who have noticed. Kendall and Logan offered to get their girls some drinks, while they stepped off the dance floor. They stand on the side, when they hear other girls talking.

"Oh my god… Just look at them. I wish I could meet a guy like him." One girl mentions.

"Ugh, I know. I wish my boyfriend would kiss me with that much passion." Another says as she crosses her arms with a pout. Jo and Camille go to stand by them.

"Who are you talking about?" Camille asks them excitedly.

"That couple over there. Haven't you noticed them before? They've just been staring at each other all night, just spewing love." The first girl answers as she points to somewhere on the dance floor. The two girls move forward and look in the direction and gasp.

"Oh my god…" Jo starts.

"No way…" Camille gushes. They squeal and run off to find their boyfriends.

Logan and Kendall are just about to pour some punch, when their girlfriends haul them away excitedly. They protest heavily, but have no say in where they're going when they end up next to the dance floor.

"Okay, you want to tell us what's..." Logan's sentence is stopped by Camille's hand on his mouth.

"Just look." She tells him and the girls point towards the dance floor. The two look in the pointed direction.

"What is so…" Kendall's voice dies down and his mouth falls open when he sees what they're pointing at.

"Is that…" Logan mentions absentmindedly, while Camille and Jo just nod excitedly.

"Wow… And he was worried he couldn't find a date." Kendall mutters. Logan nods in agreeable shock.

"There you guys are. Did you see that couple on the dance floor kissing? I mean, whoa…" James says as he reaches his friends.

"Yeah, we did. Did you see who it is?" Logan asks him matter of factly.

James frowns. "No, people keep getting in the way, why?"

"Well, just take a look." Kendall tells him and holds out an arm. James decides to humor his friends and looks on. His eyes grow wide.

"But that's…" He stammers.

"Jep." Logan answers.

"And he's…" James stammers again.

"Jep." Kendall answers this time.

"Holy crap…" He mutters. "Well, go Carlos." He then smugly adds. "I knew he had it in him."

The other two roll their eyes at him.

In the meantime, two girls are pushing people aside, looking around for someone.

"Where is she?" A girl with short black hair asks.

"I don't know." Her blonde friend adds. She sighs loudly. "Doesn't she know what time it is?"

"Ugh, if we don't find her soon, we will be in so much trouble. We promised we'd be home by midnight." The raven-haired girl complains.

"Come on, let's just find her and go home. Maybe we can still make it." The blonde says as she starts to pull her friend away. Just then, the ravenhaired girl's eyes go wide and she is frozen to the spot. "Megan? Let's go." The girl just shakes her head and points. The blonde sighs and looks in that direction and soon gasps.

"Please tell me that's not her…" Megan mumbles.

"Oh my god…" The blonde mutters in shock.

They stare at their friend involved in a deep kiss with a masked stranger.

"Well, at least she's having fun." Megan mutters with a sheepish smile. The blonde shakes her head.

"Let's just get her." The blonde says with a scowl as she starts to drag Megan along with her.

"Britt, wait…" Megan calls out as she tries to keep up with her friend.

When they reach the two, they have just pulled apart and are once again staring at one another.

"Wow… I don't think I've ever had a kiss like that before." The girl muses as Carlos looks at her.

"Yeah, me neither…" He quietly agrees.

Suddenly, their daze is broken when the girl is pulled away.

"Yeah, I am so sorry to interrupt, but Cinderella here has a curfew, which she is about to break, unless we leave right now." Britt snaps as she glares at her friend, who looks shocked.

"But I don't even…" The girl protests when Britt starts to drag her off.

"If you don't want Adam to come and find you here, you will come home with us now." The blonde threatens. The girl gasps.

"Adam…" She whispers in realization. The blonde nods. "Ok, but just at least let me say goodbye." She pleads and the blonde rolls her eyes, but lets her go.

The girl walks back to Carlos, who stands aside shyly, watching her.

"I… I am so sorry about this. I really do have to go… We promised we'd be home by midnight…" She mutters and he chuckles lightly. She frowns. "What's funny?"

"Cinderella's night ended at midnight, too. They're not your wicked stepsisters are they?" He asks her. This time she chuckles and looks back at her friends. The blonde glares at her and motions for her to hurry up, while the ravenhaired one just smiles and waves.

"Well, just one of them." She answers and turns back to him. "But wait… if I'm Cinderella, doesn't that make you prince Charming?" She asks with a smirk. He laughs full out and it sounds like music to her ears. She hears a sigh behind her. She turns around and finds her friends impatiently waiting and pointing towards the grand clock in the middle of the ballroom, almost striking midnight.

Her eyes widen. "You should go. I don't want you to get in trouble." He tells her softly, caressing her cheek. She nods and then kisses him again. She nearly loses herself in the moment, but is suddenly pulled away.

"Wait… We can't let it end like this. I don't even know your name and you don't know mine…" She tells him as she tries to fight off her very persistent friends.

"Have you ever seen the movie Serendipity?" He asks her. She shakes her head. He smiles. "If it's meant to be, we'll meet again." He tells her and kisses her cheek. She closes her eyes and when she opens them again, her friends have already pulled her away. She stares at him and can feel emotions tugging at her heart. This is so wrong.

"You have to forget about him, Delilah." Britt tells her.

"But I don't even know his name." She mentions as she feels tears building up. The blonde girl grabs her friend by the shoulder roughly.

"he is a complete stranger, Delilah. Why don't you worry more about Adam, your boyfriend?" She reminds her friend. Delilah gulps and stares at her friend. She touches her cheek once more and then nods quickly.

"Let's get out of here." She says and while she catches one more glimpse of him, standing in the middle of the dance floor, staring at her, she turns around to leave with her friends by her side.

Carlos watches the girl leave. And even though he feels horrible to let her walk out without even knowing her name or what she looks like, he feels strangely at peace. If they were meant to be, they will meet again. Which he knows they will.

A hand gently squeezes his shoulder suddenly, while another pats his back.

"Wow, dude. That must have been hard… Are you okay?" Kendall asks him. He smiles.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He softly tells his friends, letting out a deep sigh.

"Uh, this may just be me. But you actually do seem fine. Why is that?" Logan asks him with raised eyebrows.

Carlos turns to his friends with a smile. "Serendipity."

His friends look even more confused as he starts to walk away. They quickly follow him.

"Am I the only one confused here?" Logan asks. The others shake their heads.

"Carlos, dude! My man…" James suddenly yells out as he approaches his friends with a huge grin. He claps Carlos on the back. "Seriously, that was some date you had, huh? And you didn't even need my help."

Carlos raises an eyebrow.

"So, tell us about her, man. What was her name and does she have any hot friends or sisters?" James asks with a wink and an even wider grin.

"Actually, I don't know. We didn't talk much." Carlos says with a smile, before pulling away from James and walking away.

James' smile fades. He quickly rushes after his friend. He stands in front of him, stopping the Latino from moving further.

"Hold on. You don't know her name?" He asks.

"It didn't come up, no. But don't worry, she doesn't know mine either." He says with another smile. As he tries to walk off, James puts his hands on his shoulders to stop him from leaving.

"Dude, please tell me you at least got her number." He mentions with a look of horror.

"Nope." Carlos simply answers. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to the bathroom." He says, pointing towards the men's room. James quickly steps aside. He joins his friends as they watch Carlos' retreating figure. "So, he just met a girl, danced with her, kissed her like they belonged together, she left and he's not even upset?"

"Yeah, we asked him about that." Logan answers.

"And what did he say?" James asks them.

"Serendipity." Kendall answers. James frowns as he is more confused than ever.

_Four months later…_

Delilah crosses the street to a Starbucks on Times Square while holding her cell phone to her ear.

"No, Adam, I'm fine, really." She says with a sigh as she tries to assure her boyfriend nothing is going on with her. "I told you, nothing is wrong. The reason I haven't been able to talk to you is because I've been busy lately."

She closes her eyes as her boyfriend expresses even more concerns about hardly speaking to her anymore.

"Look, Adam… We knew having a long distance relationship would be difficult. I mean, we both live on different side of the coast. You live in LA, I live in New York. I mean, it's just not easy. And we both lead busy lives, so you can't expect us to talk every day." She pinches the bridge of her nose. "No, I do still care about you, of course I do. And I do want to make an effort, it's just hard, you know?" She sighs.

"Adam, honey, I really have to go. I'm meeting Megan for lunch. I'll talk to you later, okay? Yeah, I love you too." She says, before hanging up. She smiles at her friend, before sitting down at her table with a heavy sigh.

"Adam?" Her raven haired friend asks. She nods.

"He's noticed something is up." Delilah muses sadly.

"Well, anyone would." Megan replies with a smile. Delilah looks up at her. "Come on, Dee. Ever since the Masquerade, you seem completely distracted. I mean, you keep spacing out and…" Megan trails off when she sees her friend's eyes glazed over. She snaps her fingers in her face, making her snap back to reality.

"Huh, what?" She asks in confusion.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about." Megan tells her. Delilah casts her eyes down guiltily. "Honey, you need to let this go." She grabs her friend's hands. "It's been four months. It was one night. How can you possible know you feel anything for this guy? You don't even know his name." She exclaims.

"I know, alright? You think I want this? I have a boyfriend who loves me, adores me. But instead of returning his feelings, I can't stop thinking of a complete stranger I met one time. I have no idea who he is, but yet I kissed him, which I also can't forget about. Because kissing him…" She trails off and swallows heavily as she remembers the kiss that still makes her feel weak in the knees. "Kissing him made me feel things I never felt with Adam. I wish I could explain it to you, Megs, but I just can't…" She groans and lets her head fall to the table. "God… why didn't I just stay at home that night with Adam, taking care of him like a good girlfriend should."

"Honey, he told you to go. He wanted you to have fun. So if you think about it, this is all Adam's fault." Megan tells her friend. Delilah lifts her head and looks at her friend with raised eyebrows. The girl just smirks at her.

"It's not funny, Megan…" She says with a sigh, while her friend chuckles. "What am I going to do?" She whines.

"Well, how about you start by telling Adam about what happened?" Megan suggests. Delilah gives her a horrified expression.

"Are you kidding me? I can't tell him about that. It would crush him." She says in a quiet voice.

"Do you really want him to find out on his own accord?" Her friend asks. Delilah bites her lip. "Or have Britt tell him?" Her eyes widen again. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You don't really have a choice here. You need to do this, whether you like it or not." Megan rubs her friend's hands in support. "And after that is done, you need to get over this fantasy crush thing."

Delilah's eyes go to full disbelief, but then she sighs. "Yeah, you're right. This really is getting out of hand. You know I've been dreaming about him every single night for the last couple of weeks. And they aren't the normal type dreams in which I relive our dance or kiss. There are the types of dreams that move further… if you know what I mean…" She explains suggestively. Megan sniggers. "It's not funny… I've never had these dreams about Adam before. I feel like I'm cheating on him. But the dreams keep getting worse and they feel so real, I just…" She closes her eyes for a moment and fans her face with a menu. "This is so bad…"

"You're calling that bad? Sweetie, everyone has those dreams every once in a while. It's perfectly normal." Megan assures her.

"Yeah, but I do have to get over him, don't I?" She asks with a dejected face. Megan nods with a sympathetic smile.

"Either that or break up with Adam and go find this prince Charming." Megan says with a wink, before getting up from the table and walking out. Delilah looks at her in disbelief and then quickly gets up.

"Wait, what?"

_Two weeks later…_

Kendall and Logan quietly observe Carlos as he sits at the dining table, playing video games with Katie.

"Just look at him. I can't stand to see him so miserable." Kendall mentions, while Logan just nods in agreement when Carlos cheers in excitement.

Just then, James comes into the apartment.

"Hey." He says as if he's out of breath.

"Hey." The other two quietly say, keeping their eyes on their Latino friend, who is in the middle of a victory dance.

"How is he doing?" James asks them.

"It's horrible, dude. He is trying so hard to make us think he's okay. But it's clear that he is dying inside." Logan says, while Kendall nods in agreement now.

"Poor guy." James says, shaking his head.

"So, did you find anything?" Kendall asks, turning his full attention on James now.

James shakes his head and the other two sigh in disappointment.

"I've tried everything. There is just no sign of her. No one has any idea who she was or where she came from." He explains with frustration.

"Great. So there's no way to help him now." Logan says as he throws up his hands in defeat.

"Nope. Not unless we go back in time and ask her name at the Masquerade." James says with a scowl. Just then, Kendall and Logan's heads shoot up and they turn towards each other. A grin appears on both their faces.

"Guys? What? Did I say something?" James asks them in confusion.

"Yes, yes you did, James. Let's go." Kendall says with a grin as he and Logan grab one of his arms and haul him out of the apartment.

"We have a Masquerade to organize." Logan says, while James looks even more confused.

"Wait, what?"

_A week later…_

Delilah takes another deep breath as she stands in the airport and looks for her boyfriend. The minute he sees her, he smiles widely and runs up to her, sweeping her off her feet. She smiles back, although nervously and they share a short kiss.

"I am so glad to see you again." He tells her. "I have missed you so much." And he kisses her again.

"Yeah, I've missed you too." She tells him as he hugs her tightly. She hopes she comes across convincingly enough.

"Come on, let's head to your place. I can't wait to see how you redecorated it." He tells her excitedly and takes her hand, while walking out.

"Yeah, great." She responds with some fake enthusiasm.

In the car ride there, he talks non-stop about all the new people he's been meeting lately during his starting modeling career. She just smiles and nods, acting as if she really is listening and not going over the conversation she needs to have with him.

As they step out and she helps him with his luggage, he finally stops talking up a storm and looks at her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asks, sounding a little worried.

"Uh, yeah, why?" She asks in return.

"Well, you've been so quiet the whole way here." He tells her as he looks at her carefully. She quickly looks away.

"I'm fine. Let's go inside." She quickly mentions as they head inside. She sighs again, before closing the door.

About two hours later, Adam is standing by the window, while Delilah sits on the couch, looking very guilty.

"Look, I am just so sorry. I never meant for it to happen. I can't even explain how it did." She sighs. "Please say something. I know you're mad at me. Just yell, throw a pillow, anything. Please…"

It's silent for another moment, when Adam turns around. He's quiet and sits with her. He even grabs her hand and caresses it slowly.

"Adam… I…" She starts, but he shushes her quietly and then suddenly smiles at her.

"I forgive you." He quietly says. She looks at him in surprise.

"What do you mean? Just like that? You're not even going to be mad at me?" She asks in confusion.

"You're saying that as if you want to me to get mad." He says with a small chuckle. She doesn't join him. His smile fades. "But yes, I forgive you. Because I trust you. And I know something like this can happen. Besides, it's not as if you have feelings for him, right?"

She smiles nervously. "Right…" She responds and looks away. He smiles as well, albeit a little forced now.

"So, now that we have this out of the way, how about we start to actually enjoy this week together, huh?" He suggests and she smiles with relief.

"Yeah, I'd like that." She mentions. "I'll get us some more drinks." She says as she gets up.

He waits until she's out of the room, before standing up himself and getting something out of his bag. He sighs as he looks at the recent invitation to another Masquerade, held at the Palm Woods in LA in two weeks. He scowls and crumples it up, before throwing it in her paper bin.

"Everything okay?" She asks when she comes back.

"Uh, yeah. Everything is fine." He responds.

_Two weeks later…_

Carlos protests heavily as he is shoved into apartment 2J and dragged into his own bedroom by his friends, who are grinning like idiots.

"Hey, what is up with you guys? I was just relaxing by the pool. I was just about to talk to Lucy again and you guys drag me off." He exclaims as he looks at them in disbelief.

"Trust me, you don't need Lucy anyway." James tells him as they push him onto his bed. "Now sit still, while we find you something to wear."

He looks at them in confusion, when James pulls out his black tux and holds it out with a creepy grin.

"What are you doing with that?" He asks, while James just steps closer.

"Carlos, either you put it on yourself or we can do it for you. Your call." Kendall offers. Carlos looks at his friends with a questioning look.

After he is done, he looks in the mirror and glares a little.

"You're kidding, right? Why are we wearing our outfits from the Masquerade?" He asks his friends, who are dressed in the same get-up.

"Because, you can't go to a Masquerade in your swimming trunks, now can you?" Logan asks with a haunting chuckle.

Carlos narrows his eyes and looks at all three of the guys.

"What did you guys do?" He questions them.

"Well, let's just say we are executing the best plan we have ever had tonight and it's all for you, buddy." Kendall says with a proud grin.

"Yeah, we just couldn't stand seeing you so miserable after our previous mystery dance, so we figured we'd cheer you up a little." Logan adds.

"And what better way to do that then to reunite you with your Cinderella?" James finishes.

"So, let me get this straight. You thought I was feeling horrible without her and so you organized a Masquerade here in the hopes that she'll come back?" Carlos asks them. They all nods with proud grins. "What is wrong with you?" he asks in slight anger.

"We just wanted to help you." Kendall offers.

"Yeah, man, we just want you to be happy." James adds.

"You guys are such morons sometimes." Carlos suddenly tells them. Their smiles are instantly wiped from their faces. "I wasn't miserable. I was fine. I was happy, because I didn't know her name. I didn't want to know her name. And you know why?" They quickly shake their heads. "Because it's easier to forget someone when you have no idea who they are." He calls out.

The guys quickly share looks of guilt.

"And you're not supposed to interfere anyway. If it were meant to be, we would have met up again by now. You can't force it, you might jinx it and ruin everything." He tells them in exasperation.

"Or we gave fate a little hand." Logan offers.

"Yeah, maybe we were supposed to organize this night, so you two can meet again." Kendall adds. Carlos shakes his head.

"Forget it. I am not going." He says, before sitting on his bed and crossing his arms.

"Carlos, come on. Look, we didn't realize, okay? And maybe we should have talked to you. But what if she does show up tonight, huh? You'll regret it for the rest of your life that you didn't go." Kendall tells him as he sits next to him and pats his knee.

Carlos glares at him. "Thanks. You guys know just what to say to make me feel even worse." He says with a non-amused smile.

"Come on, buddy. Please do this for us. It'll be so much fun. I mean, we made secret invitations and everything." James says excitedly.

"Yeah, we put together this whole party for you and now you won't even go? I mean, that just hurts, dude." Logan tells him.

Carlos rolls his eyes as his friends try out the saddest puppy dog eyes they can with a matching pout.

"Oh for god's sake. Fine, I'll go to the stupid thing." The guys cheer. "But seriously, you really need to practice that look, you guys suck at it." He mentions, before taking the mask from James' hands and leaving the room.

"Hey!" The guys protest loudly and quickly follow their friend.

_Three hours later…_

Carlos stands on the side, absolutely seething as he watches everyone dance.

"Any sign of her?" James asks his friends as they nervously dart around and glance at Carlos now and again.

"Nope." Logan replies as he down another glass of punch.

"This isn't going well, is it?" Kendall questions.

"Well, at least everyone else is having fun?" James offers with a smile. The other two look at him and he drops it. "Yeah, I know." He says with a sigh and they trudge towards their friend with heavy feet.

"Hey, buddy." Kendall starts carefully. Carlos just turns towards him and Kendall shrinks away from the death glare shooting at him. "Okay then…"

Carlos shakes his head. "I knew it was a bad idea to come here. I'm out of here." He says as he stalks off.

"Carlos…" James starts, but Logan stops him.

"Just let him go." He quietly says.

Upstairs, Carlos throws his mask on his bed and paces through his room angrily, curling and uncurling his fists.

"God damn it, why can't I just forget about you!" he yells and lets himself fall onto his bed.

_Another three months later…_

"Well, I finally did it." Delilah tells her friend on the phone with a sigh.

"How did he take it?" Megan asks her.

"Okay, considering. I just told him it wasn't working out and that I had some stuff to figure out."

"Like how much more you love a masked stranger over him?" Megan responds.

"Megan!" Delilah scolds, when her friends starts to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I know it's not funny. But come on, that was just too easy." Delilah glares a little, even though her friend can't see her and flops down onto her bed. "hey, look, I have an awesome way to cheer you up tonight." Megan offers.

"Go for it." Delilah responds, with very little enthusiasm.

"Well, guess who got her first photography job for famous people?" Delilah sits up right away.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

This time, Delilah squeals happily. "Oh my god, Megs. That's great!" She yells excitedly. "So, who is it?"

"Well, I'm still starting out small, so it's not someone already big. But it's some upcoming band who is about to release their second album. They are having their album release party tonight and we are invited." She explains.

"Oh my gosh, that is so cool!" Delilah gushes. "Wait." She sits up, completely still. "Did you say, 'we'?"

"Jep. I got a ticket, because I have to take pictures and they told me I could take a friend. And guess who I picked?" Megan offers.

"Seriously? Aw, you didn't have to do that." Delilah tells her.

"Dude, you're my best friend. Of course I did. Besides, I didn't want to ask anyone else. You're the only fun person around here." Delilah laughs.

"So, what are they called? Maybe I've heard of them." She asks.

"Uh, hold on, let me find out." She hears some rustling in the background. "I think I have their name here somewhere." Megan muses. "Ugh, you know what? Let's just go there and I'll let you be surprised. I'm sure they'll be good, they're very popular with teenage girls." Megan teases.

"Oh, don't tell me it's another boyband." Delilah says with a chuckle.

"Oh come on, you used to love those." Megan teases again.

"Megan…" Her friend whines. "I told you, I am over that phase. You promised you'd never speak of it again."

"Sorry. It was just too good to pass up. You'll have fun, trust me. They're supposed to be really hot." The girl adds.

"Well, they better be. Or I'll have to make you pay somehow." Delilah threatens with a pout.

"Just be ready to go at 7. Dress sexy, you never know whom you might meet." Megan says with a snigger as Delilah groans.

"If I could throw a pillow right now…" She mentions.

"Bye, hon!" Megan says, laughing, before she hangs up. Delilah hangs up as well and lays on her bed for another moment, before squealing and rushing towards her closet to pick out her sexiest outfit.

_Four hours later…_

Delilah was so happy before she went, now she is as miserable as ever as she sits at the bar of the event. She's so lost in thought, she doesn't even see or hear the band performing their hearts out on stage. Nor does she notices all the guys trying to flirt with her. All because of that stupid mask falling out of her closet earlier.

She thought she got over all those feelings. But they all came rushing back when she held the item in her hand. The feel of those lips on hers… She has tried to snap out of it and be happy for her friend. But she just can't.

She sighs deeply once again that night and decides this isn't working. She gets up and is about to go find her friend, when she notices the live music has stopped. The stage is empty and music from the stereo is blaring as everyone just talks.

She searches the crowd, when a boy suddenly pops up in front of her. She raises an eyebrow at the Ken-doll like guy, with a face too pretty to be natural and a charming smile to match.

"Hi. I'm James. James Diamond." He says and she stares at him for a moment dumbfoundedly.

"Uh, hi. Delilah." She mutters and shakes his hand.

"I couldn't help but notice you sitting here by yourself. Did you like the music?" He asks.

"Huh?" She asks in confusion.

"The music. I'm with the band?" He offers.

"Oh, sorry. Had some other stuff on my mind." She tells him in a slight apology.

"Oh, ok. Guy trouble?" He asks her.

"Uh, yeah actually. I just got out of a pretty bad break up. So yeah…" She says and he immediately goes silent.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." He tells her genuinely. She smiles at him.

"Yeah, thanks. Uh, look. It was nice meeting you and all, but I was just about to find my friend and go home, so…" She tells him and goes to leave, when he grabs her hand.

"Wait, you can't leave now." He tells her. She looks at him holding her hand and raises an eyebrow.

"And why not?"

"Because, you need to be cheered up first. So, let's go dance." He offers and tries to pull her along.

"Uh, no thank you." She says and tries to walk away again. But he won't let go of her.

"Oh come on, just one dance. One dance won't kill you." He tells her.

"You'd be surprised at what one dance can cause." She mutters under her breath.

"What was that?" He asks her.

"Uh, nothing, don't worry about it. Look, you're really sweet. But like I said, I just got out of a bad break-up and I'm not really looking for a relationship right now." She tells him as gently as possible.

"Who said I was looking for a relationship? I just wanted to have some fun with a beautiful lady." He says with a wink and a smile.

"yeah… I'm sorry, but I'm really not interested. Please find someone else. I'm sure there are plenty of girls just waiting for a chance to dance with you." She tells him, before finally walking off. She doesn't turn around, but knows he's soon off the find another girl to chat up to. Guys like him always do.

She grabs her keys out of her purse and is about to head for the coat rack, when she suddenly slips on a spilt drink and goes flying. She yells out in surprise and closes her eyes for the oncoming hit. Just then, a pair of arms catches her. Her eyes fly open and she can't stop her body from starting to tremble. This is not possible…

Her heart starts to beat faster while she hands there for another moment.

"Are you okay?" She almost stops to breathe right then and there as she hears his voice in her ear. He helps her stand and she slowly, shakily turns around.

She nearly loses it right there on the spot when she finally sees him in full. Her breath is caught as she stares at the hot Latino in front of her.

He stares right back at her and suddenly smiles. She can't help but let out a squeak at the mere sight of that smile.

"So uh, have you seen Serendipity yet?" He asks her in his husky voice, stepping closer to her. She nods.

"It's quickly becoming my favorite movie ever…" She tells him in a quivering voice. He looks down a little and his mouth curls upwards slightly.

"Yeah, mine too." He tells her in all honesty and suddenly holds out his hand. She looks at it with some confusion. He smiles. "It's not very polite to let someone hanging like this." He tells her.

She picks herself back up and shakily holds out her own hand, grabbing his. Their eyes meet when they feel the same electricity sparking through like the last time they met.

"I'm Carlos." He says softly, as if no longer trusting his own voice.

"Delilah…" She softly returns and he nods slowly.

"As beautiful as the flower. I should have known that…" He tells her and her knees go weak. Just before they buckle, he pulls her close. She looks at him with slightly frightened eyes and sees the same expression staring back at her.

Yet, they both can't help but do the same thing. Nothing else matters as their lips crash for a second time. This time, they can feel even more sparks flying through them. They completely put all their passion and love into this one kiss. Pretty soon, they lose the air to breathe and have to pull away. They stare in each other's eyes and then shyly smile and look away.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you." Carlos finally mentions. She can't help but start to laugh and he smiles even wider as she buries her face in his shoulder. "Wow… even you're laugh is beautiful…" He whispers and she looks up with a loving smile.

She sighs in content and rests her head on his chest, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Uh, Delilah?" He asks her carefully. She looks up at him and sees him smiling nervously.

"Hm?" She asks.

"Do you mind if I introduce you to some people? They've kinda been dying to meet you." He sheepishly says. She smiles.

"Sure. As long as I can introduce you to someone, who's been dying to meet you as well." She offers. He grins.

"Deal. Come on." She links her arm in his and he leads her through the crowd and towards a small group of people laughing together and talking.

"Uh, guys?" He starts.

"In a minute, Carlos." A blonde with bushy eyebrows mentions and he goes back to his conversation.

"Guys." He says a little louder. This time, a brunet turns around. He goes to put on a huge charming smile, when he suddenly recognizes her and it drops right away. Her eyes grow wide and she tries to hide herself.

"Uh, maybe this isn't…" She starts, but Carlos just smiles when they finally turn their attention to him.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Delilah. You might recognize her better if you picture her in a blue dress and wearing a black mask." He says with a smile as he stares at her. She can feel her face heat up as they stare at her with wide eyes.

"No way…" The blond starts as he stares her up and down.

"I told you serendipity is real." Carlos tells them.

"But that's not possible. There is nothing logical about this." Another brunet, shorter responds. Carlos just rolls his eyes.

"Delilah, I'd like you to meet my friends. This is Kendall, Logan and James." She greets them all with a handshake, but stops at James. Stares at him in hesitation. But then he smiles widely and winks at her, before holding out his hand. She apprehensively takes it.

"It's nice to finally meet you. Carlos hasn't stopped talking about you." He finishes with a wink. She smiles at him in gratitude.

"It's nice to meet you, too." She says as they shake hands. The guys are pulled into another conversation and Carlos leans into her.

"You want to get out of here?" He whispers in her ear. She smiles and nods.

"Oh, wait. Let me say goodbye to someone first." She says and he nods. She quickly rushes off to find Megan but the girl spots her first.

"Oh my god… I saw you kiss that guy, it's him, isn't it?" She immediately asks. Delilah can barely contain her excitement and can just nod with a really big smile. They both squeal.

"His name is Carlos and I don't know anything else about him, but wow…" She gushes in a dreamy voice. Megan lets out a happy aw.

"I am so happy for you. And don't worry about not knowing anything else about him yet. There's plenty of time for that now." She says. "Now go get your guy and remember, always use protection." Delilah gasps and looks at her friend with her mouth open. "Oh come on, with a kiss like that the second time you meet? This night can't have another ending. Now go get him!" She says as she pushes her friend forward. Delilah just smiles and shakes her head.

"What was that about?" Carlos asks her.

"Uh, nothing. She's just glad to meet you." Delilah explains and tries to shoo her friend away when she looks at Carlos' ass and gives her a big thumbs up.

"But I didn't even meet her?" Carlos questions.

"Trust me, you'll like her better from afar." Delilah explains, before starting to push him out the door.

They walk down the streets of New York with their arms wrapped around each other, just smiling and talking.

"So, you live in New York, huh?" He questions her.

"Yeah." She says with a smile. "But I am definitely thinking of moving somewhere else."

"Really, and where is that?" He asks her.

"You live in LA, right?" She asks him. He nods with some confusion. "Such a coincidence. That's exactly where I'm going." She tells him and he laughs. She sighs in content and smiles, just staring at him.

"What?" He asks her. She sighs.

"Oh nothing. Just that Serendipity really is my favorite movie of all times now." She tells him. He smiles and leans down to give her a kiss. When he lets go, she shakes her head and opens her eyes. "Jep, definitely my favorite movie of all time."

Needless to say, this was the start of an amazing evening, ending in an even more amazing night. It was also the start of a very passionate and loving relationship, which would last for years to come.

**A/N Ok, my first Carlos one shot to be posted here. This is just one of the many ideas that keep jamming my creativity, so I thought I'd finally write them all down and maybe cure the writer's block for my other stories **

**Just a little romance for all the Carlos lovers out there with my OC, Delilah. Hope you enjoyed it! **

**I can't tell you how long it might be before I post another one shot in here. I have plenty more ideas, but some just don't come out right on paper. So please be patient with me and if I don't get round to posting another one shot in this slot, please enjoy this one **

**And if I do get round to posting more, remember they can range from romance to drama to tragedy to angst and others in between. This is just to cure my writer's block. But if you like them, let me know **

**Thank you all and so happy to know they'll start shooting the new season tomorrow! Been waiting for new episodes for so long, I can't wait and I hope Carlos gets some awesome storylines this season. One thing I hope for is like James said, a serious storyline for an episode or two and I hope his parents come back, too!**

**Goodnight all, I am dead tired, I'll try to write more tomorrow **

**Love, Baxxie**


	2. Charmed: Part 1

**A/N Ok, another short story to cure my writer's block. Not a one shot, my apology, it's too long for that. Here's a cross-over with a wonderful show called Charmed It is actually mostly shown from their pov's, just because it's fun to write. If you don't know Charmed, it might be difficult to understand some details about the characters. I don't want to take the time to explain it, so look on to find out ;)**

**Anyway, for the people who do know the show: Prue never died (because I don't really like Paige, sorry), I'm pretending we're in season six, meaning Wyatt is about two and Leo never became an Elder.**

**Further explanation on the story can be found in this first chapter. I hope it's not too confusing. If anything is unclear, please ask **

**Let me know what you think! This story won't be too long, maybe about three or four chapters and I might skip some parts, because I don't want to write too many details and I have to get this out of my system :P Hope you still like it and review **

Charmed: Part 1

As the 'Charmed ones' get older, they don't have to deal with a lot of demons anymore. They love having somewhat more peaceful family lives with the occasional vanquishing of evil. But every now and then, new surprises pop up. Like today…

The Halliwell sisters are just sitting at their dining table having lunch when Leo orbs in. Piper immediately kisses him as a greeting.

"So, where did you go so early this morning?" She questions her husband.

"Uh, I was called up for official business." He mentions, making all three women look at him questioningly. "Something big is taking place. Some new powers are being unleashed on some unsuspecting witches today." He announces.

"What, like the way we got our powers in the beginning?" Phoebe questions him.

"Exactly. Only this is slightly more complicated." He explains. They frown in confusion. "These witches aren't ordinary people." He says with a small smile.

"Well, who are they?" Prue asks him.

"Have you ever heard of a band called Big Time Rush?" He asks them and they look at him in disbelief.

_Cue the intro :P_

"Ok, hold on. So, you're saying that these four famous teenage boys are about to receive powers and every demon from the underworld is going to try and go after them?" Piper asks her husband. He nods.

"But why?" Prue asks.

"These aren't exactly normal powers. At least, for one of them anyway. Three of these boys have somewhat normal powers. You know, reading minds, physical flexibility and conjuring things up from thin air." He explains. "But the last one, well, that's a different situation."

"What do you mean?" Phoebe questions.

"Well, he is about to receive the power of the four elements."

"The four elements? What, like earth, wind, fire and water?" Phoebe asks. Leo nods.

"By himself?" Prue asks in shock. "How is that possible? Why aren't they divided over all four guys?"

"These powers have been locked up for many years. They have always been reserved for a person worthy to receive them. Only a person with a pure heart deserves them and can handle them." He explains. "It is his destiny to receive the powers. It is a lot to handle and I am not sure why they are meant for one person, but there has to be a reason the Elders chose him."

"But he is already set to receive them tonight, right?" Phoebe asks. "Can the demons stop it from happening?"

"No, they can't. But in exactly seven days, on Friday the Thirteenth, they will have a chance when the full powers are released at midnight." Leo tells them and they frown.

"But isn't he already receiving the powers today?" Piper asks.

"Yes. But since this is such an enormous responsibility, he will be tested first. They want to see what he does with his powers and if he is worthy of receiving them. Which means that exactly at midnight, the powers will be fully unleashed. If he is worthy, he will receive the full extent of them. But if he isn't, the powers might be lost forever. The powers will be up in the air for a small moment as the powers choose a worthy suitor. The problem is, once they are in the air making a decision; others will have a chance to get to them. Especially if they kill him when the clock strikes twelve." He explains.

They raise their eyebrows. "So the Elders want us to protect him?" Piper asks.

"Yeah, but it's a little more complicated than that." He answers. "Since they are so famous, it's going to be hard to use any magic without being exposed. Which is also a good thing, because it means demons can't easily get to them either. Plus, there is the fact that they have no idea that this is about to happen and won't know what is going on."

"Do they know which one it is?" Phoebe asks.

"The Elders do, but they won't tell me. It's better if no one else knows, it means there is less chance for the Underworld to find out and kill him." He tells the girls, right before he gets another calling. "Well, gotta go. Good luck." He kisses his wife one more time, before orbing out.

"Well, this is definitely new." Piper starts.

"Why would they give a teenage boy the power of the four elements? I mean, isn't that a little much for one person?" Phoebe asks her sisters.

"I agree it's a little weird. But like Leo said, they probably have their reason. The Elders wouldn't just give someone those powers if they didn't think he could handle it." Prue answers.

"Yeah, which is why they need to test him for seven days, after which he might die anyway. Either by the demons or the powers being too much to handle." Piper suddenly mentions. The other two look up with raised eyebrows. They suddenly see she has the Book of Shadows already on the table. They quickly join her and read the passage about the powers.

"So hold on, he can control nature with these powers?" Phoebe asks in disbelief. "That is so cool." She says with a grin.

"Yeah, unless they are too strong for him to handle, and they kill him from the inside out." Prue mentions, making Phoebe's smile fade.

"Wow… how is he ever going to hide this from everyone watching their every move? I mean, look at this. Every element can appear with certain emotions: fire when he feels anger, wind with fear, water with sadness and earth with happiness." Piper tells them.

"Yeah, but only when his emotions become extreme. And just think of all the good he can do once he takes control over the powers. He could restore nature and protect those who can't protect themselves." Phoebe responds. The other two sigh.

"Well, who's ready to meet a boyband?" Piper offers. Phoebe just squeals with excitement, while Prue sighs.

_An hour later…_

"Look, ma'am, there are plenty of women here, usually girls much younger, who want to meet the band. I'm just telling you it's not going to happen." The bodyguard explains to the sisters.

"But you don't understand. We have to see them. Their lives might be in danger." Phoebe blurts out. The guy raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms.

"Right and I'm Santa Claus. Just leave, ladies. You're not coming in." He tells them and looks away. Piper growls and then puts up her hands, successfully freezing everyone. Her sisters look at her in disbelief.

"Uh, Piper?" She turns to them just before she can open the door of the backstage area.

"What? He was getting on my nerves. Now are going inside or what?" She asks them. They exchange a glance, before following her. Inside everyone else is frozen as well.

"So how do we find them?" Prue asks. The other two just point towards a sign with Big Time Rush. "Ah."

Just then a voice is heard from behind them.

"Uh, Kelly? Hello?" They turn around and find a young Latino waving his hand in an African-American woman's face, who is frozen mid-step. "Wow, you are really good at this playing a statue thing." He says, chuckling a little. He shakes his head and turns around, jumping a little when he sees the Halliwell sisters. He looks around for a moment. "Uh, who are you?"

"You're from Big Time Rush, right?" Prue asks him with a smile.

"I…"

"Hey, Carlos, why is everyone standing still like a statue like that? Did you convince them to play a prank or something?" A short brunet asks as he walks over to the Latino. He stops short when he sees the three women. He raises an eyebrow. "Who are they?" He whispers into his friend's ear.

"We're Prue, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell." Prue says as she points to her sisters and herself.

"We're witches and we came here to save your lives." Piper adds, making their mouths fall open in shock.

"I'm sorry, did you say witches?" The brunet says with some laughter.

The women nod. The brunet bursts out laughing and bumps his friend in the shoulder to join him.

"That is so cool…" The Latino breathes out. His friend's laughter dies down.

"Carlos, you can't be serious. You don't really believe in that stuff, do you?" Carlos doesn't even turn to him, his eyes full of amazement.

"So, what kind of powers do you have?" Carlos asks the women. Prue smiles and narrows her eyes as he focuses on a ball lying in the corner of the hallway. His eyes grow in childlike amazement when the ball flies into the air and into the rest of the hallway. "wow…" He breathes out. "Logan, did you see that?" He asks his friend.

When Logan doesn't respond, he turns to him and finds him frozen. "Logan? Did one of you freeze him?" He asks.

"Uh, no. I mean, I froze everyone else, but he shouldn't be." Piper answers.

"Logan? Are you okay?" Carlos asks.

"That was… She…" He suddenly answers with a shaky voice as he points towards Prue. "That's not possible…" he says, before his eyes roll into the back of his head and he crumbles. Carlos catches him just in time and then stares at the three again.

Some moments later the three women are standing inside the boy's dressing room, while Logan is slowly waking up and the three other members are sitting on the couch.

"So, let me get this straight. You're saying the three of you are witches, sent here to save us, because we are witches, too?" Kendall asks them.

"Pretty much, yeah." Phoebe answers.

"This is so cool…" Carlos muses excitedly once again. "So, when do we get our powers? Are they as cool as yours?" He asks with big eyes. Kendall looks at him n disbelief and shakes his head.

"Look, I don't know what's going on here, but you don't expect us to believe this, right? Who put you up to this? I bet it was Katie, wasn't it?" Kendall asks with a smirk as he stands up. "She has been trying to get back at us for playing a prank on her last week. How did she find you anyway? Are you actresses?" he asks them.

Prue sighs, before narrowing her eyes and throwing Kendall's baseball cap across the room. His eyes widen and he looks at the hat lying in the corner now.

"Uh, how did you do that?" He asks. "How much is she paying you?"

"Guys? Are you in here?" A female voice sounds from the door. She nearly opens it, when Carlos rushes over and sticks his head out.

"Hey, Kelly. Uh, you shouldn't come in here. Logan got sick and it's really messy and gross in here." He tells her. "Bye." Before closing the door in her face. He shrugs his shoulders at the questioning looks everyone else is throwing them.

"Ok, we need a quieter place to talk." Phoebe mentions and the other two nod.

"Leo!" Piper calls out. The guys raise their eyebrows, when Logan lets out a groan and sits up.

"Ugh, what happene…" His sentence is cut short when Leo suddenly orbs in. His eyes grow wide and he faints again.

Kendall is also staring hard now.

"You still convinced this is a prank?" Phoebe asks him. He gulps and shakes his head.

"Leo, can you orb us all to the manor? We could use some privacy." Piper asks her husband. He nods.

"You better grab on to each other." He tells the guys. Carlos quickly grabs hold of Logan. Kendall still sits there in silence, while James stares at Phoebe with a smug grin.

"You want me to force you?" Prue threatens towards Kendall, who quickly grabs Carlos and James in fear. She smiles. "Good."

Together they orb to the Halliwell manor. Carlos helps Logan lay down on the couch again, while Kendall shakily sits down as well, wondering about what just happened. James just stands and it about to approach Phoebe, who immediately holds up a hand to stop him.

"Honey, you're cute, but I am way too old for you, plus I have a boyfriend." His smile fades and he moves to sit with Kendall, looking rejected.

"So, uh, now that we have time to talk. Have any of you noticed any strange things going on lately? Maybe things moved without anyone touching it?" Piper starts to ask, while the guys exchange glances and shake their heads.

"Okay, how about we get our guests some drinks?" Phoebe suggests and the others follow her into the kitchen.

"Leo, are you sure these are the guys?" Piper asks her husband when they're out of earshot.

"They have to be, don't they? I mean, they were the only ones not frozen at the music complex, right?" Phoebe answers and they nod.

Meanwhile, in the living room…

Carlos is trying to slap Logan awake. Kendall is still staring into nothingness, while James is scowling.

"Do you think she really has a boyfriend? Or does she really not like me?" James questions his friend. He whips out a mirror out of thin air. "Maybe it's my hair." He grimaces at his hair, convinced it looks horrible. "Ugh, how did I not bring my lucky comb? I wish I had it with me right now." He says and suddenly it appears in his hand.

He gasps and drops it, jumping up from the couch in surprise. Kendall does the same.

"What the hell was that?" He yells out.

"I don't know! I just wished I had it with me and suddenly it was right there, in my hand!" James yells back.

"What's going on, what happened?" Piper calls out as they all rush back inside the living room.

"James, he… he made his lucky comb appear…" Kendall stammers as he points towards the offending object on the floor.

"I didn't even do anything. I just wished it was here… I don't know what happened." James stammers in agreement. The women's eyebrows shoot up in curiosity.

"Wish for something else." Prue suggests.

"I'd rather not." James says, shaking his head quickly.

"Come on, just try something. Wish for this glass of water." Phoebe suggests, holding up a glass for him to see.

James looks hesitant, but steps closer. He gulps and holds out his hand. "I wish I had that glass of water." He says, focusing on the glass.

Everyone stares with amused faces when the glass disappears from Phoebe's hand and suddenly reappears in James' hand. He gasps again in shock and drops the glass. Piper quickly freezes it and grabs it, before it can fall to the floor.

"Well, at least we know which power he has." Prue says with a smirk.

"Dude, do that again!" Carlos yells out in excitement. James shakes his head.

"I really don't want to." He mutters. Carlos rolls his eyes.

"Ooh, what power do I have?" He suddenly asks, his face growing excited again.

"We don't know." Piper says with a chuckle. "We'll have to wait and find out."

He claps his hands like a happy child and then turns his attention back to Logan.

"Wow… He reminds me of a six year old." Piper whispers to her family. They nod in amused agreement.

Logan starts to groan and slowly wakes up. He sits up and holds a hand to his head, wincing.

"Ugh, what happened?" He asks. Just then he jumps as he sees the unfamiliar place they're in. "Where are we and how did we get here?"

"Just relax and we'll explain the rest." Piper suggests. He looks at his friends in confusion, but they just nod.

Right before Prue gets ready to talk, their clock chimes seven.

"Wait, what time is it?" Kendall asks, having recovered from the shock suddenly.

"Uh, seven, why?" Phoebe asks. His eyes widen.

"We have a show to do in an hour." He tells them.

"Wait, you can't do a concert now. Not when we don't know who has what power. They could come out at any minute." Piper tells them.

"Powers?" Logan asks in confusion.

"I'll explain later." Carlos tells him.

"Look, we realize the problem, but we can't just bail on this concert. People paid for their tickets and we don't like letting our fans down." Kendall adds. The women exchange glances. A pure heart… "Can we just do the concert and then come back here? Then you can explain everything in full detail." He suggests.

Prue sighs. "I guess we could do that. But what if something happens?"

"Well, why don't you come see us perform? That way, if something does happen, you can be right there to help?" He suggests.

"See? This is why he's our leader." Carlos suddenly mentions with a smile, before hugging Kendall, who looks at him in disbelief.

"Looks like we found our guy." Phoebe whispers to her sisters, who nod with a smile as they look at Kendall, who is shoving away his friend, who falls to the floor with a thud.

They safely orb the guys back in time for their concert and stay to watch. They carefully watch for any 'magical' moments, but are relieved to find everything going off without a hitch.

After the show, the guys are invited to come stay with them at the manor temporarily, so they can be protected. Leo has already explained things to Mrs. Knight, who surprisingly immediately agrees and even brings over sleeping bags and some clothes for the guys. When she comes over, she just drops the stuff in Kendall's arms and kisses his cheek before leaving, not even giving any of the guys time to respond.

"So, that was weird." Kendall comments, before closing the door.

"So how long are we staying here?" James asks them as he sits on the couch.

"Well, at least seven days." Piper tells them.

"Why seven days?" Kendall asks them. The women exchange glances. Leo shakes his head at them, making sure they don't talk about what will happen.

"Uh, just trust us, it's safer." Prue explains. Kendall frowns.

"But we do get to go to our concert on Friday, right? I mean, we've been invited to do a performance outside until midnight exactly. Not sure why, but apparently it's a big honor or something on Friday the Thirteenth." He explains.

The sisters exchange glances. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" Phoebe asks them once again and leads her sisters into the kitchen. They quickly rile onto Leo.

"What is going on here? Is there a reason why they're doing a concert outside until midnight?" Piper asks him. He sighs and looks down with some guilt.

"Well, apparently the boy needs to be outside to receive the full powers of the elements. The Elders had to come up with a way to make sure that happens, so they came up with this." He explains.

"Leo!" Piper scolds, slapping him in the arm. "How could you not tell us about this?"

"Do you know how many people will be there? Innocent people that could get hurt when the demons try to attack?" Prue scolds.

"Well, they might not, since they don't want to be exposed." He reminds them sheepishly.

"Oh right, I nearly forgot about that. Not only are we going to have to protect these four witches and thousands of screaming girls from demons, but now we have to do it without anyone risking getting exposed." Prue adds.

"I guess you're meant to find a way around that." Leo tells them with a shrug of his shoulders. The women glare at him. They roll their eyes and head back into the living room.

Kendall is getting their sleeping bags ready on the floor, while James is checking himself in the mirror, too afraid to hold his lucky comb and Logan is staring off into space, still in shock about them orbing back here.

"Uh, where's the fourth one?" Prue suddenly asks. They look around.

"Hey, uh, Kendall, right?" Phoebe asks the blond, who looks up. "Where's your friend?"

He looks around in confusion.

"You know, the short one, acts like a child?" Piper adds.

"Oh, you mean Carlos? Uh, I don't know. I didn't even notice he left the room." He mentions, looking around himself. "Carlos?" He calls out and everyone, but Logan rushes out to find the lost member of the group.

"I'm going to go pick up Wyatt from the Elders." Leo mentions. Piper nods as he orbs out.

"Carlos?" Everyone calls out as they look for the Hispanic teenager in every room of the house.

"I can't find him anywhere." Phoebe mentions when they meet back up downstairs. Just then, a loud thud is heard. They look up with frowns.

"Carlos?" Kendall calls out before they all rush upstairs. More thuds are heard further upstairs. Phoebe and Prue exchange glances.

"The attic." They mutter in unison. They quickly run upstairs and open the attic door. Their eyes widen when they see Carlos walking towards a strange light coming from the attic window with his hand stretched out.

"Prue!" Piper yells and Prue quickly moves her hand, throwing Carlos to the floor. He blinks heavily when he sits up and the light disappears. His eyes widen.

"Uh, how did I get here?" He questions in a slight daze. The sisters frown and exchange confused glances.

Suddenly his eyes light up and he rushes up and forward. "Oh my god… The Book of Shadows!" The three women look at him with shocked eyes.

"You know what it is?" Phoebe asks him as he walks towards it and opens it.

"Wow… This is really cool. Look at all these spells." He gushes in amazement.

"Again, you know what the Book of Shadows is?" Phoebe asks a second time.

"Well, yeah. I've always believed in spiritual stuff. You know, ghosts, magic, the whole thing. Do you guys ever use these spells on yourself? Oh, never mind. You can't them for personal gain, right? It's so weird. I feel like I've seen a book like this before." He blabbers on as he turns the pages. "Wait! Logan… He has a book like this in his bookcase." He suddenly mentions with some confusion.

They look at him in disbelief and then quickly head downstairs again. They stand before the brunet still sitting on the couch in slight shock. He is rubbing his temples, while closing his eyes.

"Logan, right?" Piper questions and he looks up.

"Do you have any aspirin?" He asks her. "My head is really hurting with all this nonsense." He says with a nervous laugh.

Piper chuckles slightly. "Right, you still don't believe us. We just have a question for you. Why do you have a Book of Shadows in your bookcase?" She asks him. He looks up in confusion.

"What are you talking about? What's a Book of Shadows?" He asks.

"Right, Logan. As if you don't know." Carlos tells him and shakes his head.

"Hey, I am not a liar!" Logan suddenly yells out and stands up. Soon after he winces and grabs his head, before sitting down again. Carlos looks at him in confusion.

"Wow, that was so weird. I didn't even say that out loud." The Latino mentions.

Logan rolls his eyes. "Yes, you did say that out loud. I heard you loud and clear, Carlos." He tells his friend. Carlos stares at him in disbelief.

"Uh, Logan?" Kendall suddenly asks, making his friend look up at him. "Carlos didn't say anything…" He tells the teen, who looks at him.

"What are you… I heard him, Kendall. He thinks I'm lying about not knowing about that book of spells!" he calls out and everyone is silent. Logan quickly closes his mouth when he realizes his mistake. He sighs. "Okay, fine. I do know about it. But it's not like it's real. It was sent as a present from all of our parents for Christmas last year. I didn't tell you guys, because I thought it was stupid and then I forgot about it."

"Dude, we've had a book of spells for three months and you didn't tell us?" Carlos asks in exasperation.

"I forgot I had it, alright? Just relax, Carlos, it's not like it's real anyway." He responds again.

"Uh, hello? Witches!" Carlos calls out as he points towards the sisters and then the four of them. Logan rolls his eyes. "Why are you always such a party pooper?"

Logan looks at Carlos, who has crossed his arms. "I am not a party pooper!" He yells and Carlos looks up with wide eyes.

"How did he know what I was thinking? I didn't say it out loud, did I?" Carlos says and Logan is about to open his mouth to retort, when he realizes Carlos' mouth never opened. He sits further away from his friend.

"Logan, are you okay?" Kendall asks him in concern.

"I don't get why he can't just relax for once." Carlos tells him. Logan's eyes widen as his mouth stays closed again. He backs away in fear.

"Logan? What's wrong?" Carlos asks him. _'Why is he backing away?'_

Logan grabs his head and yells. "Stop doing that!" He quickly jumps up from the couch to get as far away from Carlos as possible.

"Dude, what's wrong?" James asks him, but Logan just shakes his head.

"Doing what?" His friend asks.

"Talking without moving your lips…" Logan tells him.

'_Wow, that orbing has really made him lose his mind.'_

"There! You did it again!" Logan yells at him. Carlos gets up and takes a step towards him. Logan backs up. "No, don't come closer. Show me how you did that first."

"Logan, I don't know what you're talking about…"

'_Maybe he needs a doctor.' _

"What? I don't need a doctor, Carlos. I am fine, you are the weird one here." Logan accuses. Carlos looks at him for a moment in confusion, until a mischievous grin appears on his face.

'_Logan, how much is 1+1? I think it's three.'_

Logan scrunches up his brows. "What? 1+1 is not 3, Carlos. Even you know that."

"Ha!" Carlos shouts as he points a finger towards Logan. "I knew it! You heard what I was thinking!" He says in glee, jumping up and down a little.

"What are you talking about? I can't hear thoughts, that's not possible." Logan tells him.

Everyone else just watches them in confusion.

"Well, actually, one of you is supposed to receive the power to read minds." Phoebe informs them. Logan turns to her and back to Carlos, who looks even more excited.

"What? No… No, no, no. No way… That is not possible. I can not read minds." He says.

"Really? So you can't tell what I'm thinking right now?" Carlos mentions with a sly grin.

Suddenly, Logan gasps. "Oh my god, dude… Where did you even learn that kind of language?" He directs towards Carlos, who immediately claps his hands and laughs.

"This is so awesome! I can't wait to find out what my power is." He gleefully shouts.

As Leo orbs in with 2-year old Wyatt, his and Piper's son, he looks around in confusion.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"Well, we found out who has the mind reading power." Piper informs him and points towards Logan, who had his hands on his head and is trying to get away from a grinning Carlos.

"Carlos, knock it off! Stop thinking weird stuff!" Carlos laughs out loud. Then, Logan gasps and looks horrified. "Ok, that is just disgusting…" He tells the laughing teenager.

Wyatt makes a giggling noise as well, making the guys look up.

"Hey, who's this little fella?" Carlos asks as he walks closer and slightly tickles the blond two year old, who giggles at him. Piper frowns a little with a smile.

"Uh, this is Wyatt, our son." She informs him.

"He's cute." Kendall says with a warm smile, also tickling the boy from the other side. Just then, Wyatt orbs a blue elephant into his arms. Kendall and Carlos step back.

"Wow." Carlos says in amazement.

"Now you don't see that everyday." Kendall mentions and Carlos nods his head slowly.

"Ok, I'm just going to put Wyatt to bed." Leo mentions. He kisses Piper's forehead and heads upstairs.

"Bye Wyatt!" Carlos cheerfully says as he waves at the small boy. Piper raises her eyebrows when her son actually waves a small hand back.

"Okay, well. You should probably get to bed, too. We have a lot to do these next seven days." She tells the guys. Kendall and Carlos immediately protest, but are surprised to see James is already asleep and also head for their sleeping bags.

"Hey, Kendall, what do you think our powers are?" Carlos asks his friend as they lay down.

"I don't know, dude. I still think this whole thing seems so surreal. I mean, are you sure we're not dreaming this?" The blond answers, before screaming out in pain. "Dude, why did you pinch me?"

"To see if you were asleep." Carlos says in a 'duh' manner. Kendall rolls his eyes.

"Goodnight, boys." Phoebe tells them in an amused voice.

"'Night!" they reply in unison and the three women head upstairs.

"Psst, Logan. Are you still awake?" Carlos whispers in the background. Logan sighs in annoyance.

"What, Carlos?" He whispers back.

"Can you tell what I'm thinking?" Carlos whispers again. It's quiet for a moment.

"Oh my god!" Logan exclaims in a disgusted manner, followed by Carlos laughing hysterically. "You are disgusting, you know that?"

The three women shake their heads in amusement as the boys start to argue and even have a small pillow fight, while Kendall tries to calm them down.

"This should be an interesting seven days…" Phoebe exclaims.

"Yep, that's a good word for it." Prue replies with a chuckle.

"Goodnight, guys." Piper tells them, followed by a chorus of the others saying goodnight back.

**A/N End of part 1 Still hope you're not too confused. If you have any comments, let me know by reviewing or a PM **

**Thanks for the reviews and alerts and such on the previous one-shot. Glad you liked it **

**Love, Baxxie**


	3. Jarlos day: Just Be You

Just Be You

Logan and Kendall are quietly sitting on the couch watching TV, when the door to 2J bursts open. They look up to find Carlos storming inside and slamming the door behind him. He crosses right through the room and towards his own bedroom, slamming that door behind him as well. They exchange glances and quickly shoot up from the couch.

Just then, two seconds later, the door bursts open again. James rushes in, an anxious look on his face. He shoots a questioning look towards his friends, who immediately point towards the bedroom. He rushes off again, trying to open the door.

The other exchange a second look and rush off towards their tall friend.

"Carlos? Carlos, open the door. I said I was sorry… Will you please let me explain?" He calls out as he pounds on the door and tries to open it.

"Go away!" Carlos angrily calls back. They hear a muffled thud hitting the door, telling them he threw a pillow against it.

"Carlos, come on. I'm sorry for what happened… Please open the door, so we can talk about this!" James calls back. When Carlos doesn't reply, he just sighs and leans his head on the door.

"Dude, what did you do?" Kendall asks him in a whisper. James lifts up his head and shakes it.

"I just…" He starts to say, when the door swings open. In the doorway is a seething Carlos, who looks straight at James.

James immediately turns to him and puts on his most apologetic look.

"Oh thank god, Carlos, look, I am so sorry. I don't even know what happened…" He starts, when Carlos snorts.

"You don't know what happened? That's weird, because to me, it looked like you knew exactly what you were doing." Carlos spats at him.

"Carlos…" James starts again.

"No, James. I am so tired of this. You really don't know what happened? That means you have done it so often already, you don't even realize it anymore." He adds angrily.

"If you let me explain…" James tries.

"No, just don't! I am sick of it, James. I am sick of you being so goddamn selfish all the time and stealing all the girls away from everyone. Why can't you give us normal guys a chance, huh?" Carlos rants and the guys' eyes widen.

"Did he just curse?" Logan asks Kendall quietly.

"I think he did." Kendall answers.

"And you two! Why don't you just go make out with your precious little girlfriends and leave me the hell alone!" Carlos yells, making Logan and Kendall look at him in shock. Carlos cries out in frustration and then turns on his heel and storms back into his bedroom.

Logan and Kendall stand there baffled for a minute, before getting ready to go talk to him. James stops them quickly with a shake of his head.

"I'll go. Why don't you guys head down to the lobby for a minute." He suggests. They look at him worriedly.

"Uh, dude, Carlos just cursed at us. We're not confident with leaving you alone with him here." Kendall tells him, while Logan nods in agreement.

James sighs. "I appreciate your concerns, but this was my fault and I need to fix it." He assures them. The other two still look worried, but start to leave anyway.

"Alright. But we are coming back in about fifteen minutes, just to make sure he didn't kill you." Kendall warns over his shoulder. James chuckles at them and waves them off. As soon as he hears the door close behind him, he takes a deep breath and knocks on the half closed door of his and Carlos' bedroom.

"Carlos?" He quietly asks, before stepping in. He quickly steps back to avoid getting hit by a thrown basketball. "Wow, that would have hurt a lot more than a pillow." He jokes.

"Be glad I didn't throw a hockey puck." Carlos grumbles from his bed.

James sighs and walks towards the boy's bed. "Can I sit?"

"You always get what you want anyway, so do whatever you want." He grumbles, without looking up.

James slowly sits down and looks at Carlos. But his friend stares hard at the opposite wall, his arms crossed and a scowl on his head. He can see his nostrils flaring up, something he does when he's really angry. James is relieved that he hasn't attacked him yet. The last time he got this angry was with Heather Fox… But the brunet quickly puts it out of his mind. This situation is different. Carlos isn't ignoring him for fifteen hours and he hasn't attacked him either. Well, not completely anyway.

"If you're just going to stare at me, you can just leave." Carlos suddenly grumbles without looking at him again and James looks away. He sighs and turns back to his friend.

"Carlos, I really am sorry. I don't know how…" He starts, but Carlos lets out an exasperated sigh, making him stop.

"If you're still going to pretend you don't know what happened, then I don't see why I'm even bothering listening to you." He huffs and moves to get off the bed.

"Carlos…" He takes another deep breath, just as Caros walks off and is about to walk through the door. "Okay! Okay… I'll admit it…" He finally admits and the Latino stops walking. "I asked her out even though I know you like her." He quietly adds.

Carlos still stands in the doorway with his back towards his friend.

"I know what I did was horrible, but I have a good reason for it…" He starts to explain, when finally Carlos turns around. James jumps back from the pure anger in his eyes.

"I have liked her for months… For months, James! I was trying to work up the courage to finally ask her out and at the last minute you swoop in and ask her out instead! And of course she said yes. Why wouldn't she, right?" He mentions, his voice rising and lowering in volume. "What you did, wasn't just horrible, James. You downright betrayed me. You broke the best friend code. Again!"

"No, Carlos, I had a reason…" He tries to defend, but Carlos interrupts again.

"Oh, you had a reason? Is this like that awesome reason you had for not giving me Heather Fox's note?" He asks, breathing heavily and shaking from anger. "You know what? It doesn't even matter anymore. After the Heather episode, I thought I was important to you. That I was as much of a friend to you as you are to me. But then you go and do this and I don't know anymore." Carlos tells him and his eyes widen.

"Buddy, no, you are. You are important to me…" James tries to tell him. He gets off of the bed, but Carlos walks away from him.

"Really? And this is how you wanted to show me?" He asks, his face scrunched up.

"Yes…" James suddenly mentions. A look of surprise comes on to Carlos' face. He lets out a disheartened laugh.

"Oh wow… That is just…" He says and then goes to turn his back on James again. But this time, the brunet puts a hand on his arm and turns him back around.

"Keep your hands off of me…" Carlos tells him with a death glare, but James doesn't let go.

"No, Carlos. Because you need to hear me out." Carlos rolls his eyes and tries to turn again, but James grabs his other arm as well and turns his friend towards him. "Just listen, okay? If you still hate me after that, then by all means walk away or beat me up. But just let me explain why I did it." Carlos rolls his eyes again, but doesn't turn away. He does look away though, avoiding his friend's gaze.

"Look, the reason I asked her out, was for you." Carlos huffs and James shakes him for a moment. "Just listen." He orders. He closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. "I did it to protect you, Carlos. That girl… She isn't a very nice person, buddy." He says quietly. Carlos finally looks up with a look of confusion and disbelief. "Come on, sit down for a minute." James tells him and lets go. He himself goes to sit on the bed again. Carlos hesitates for a moment, but then sits down as well, albeit further away.

"This isn't easy for me to tell you and honestly, I wasn't going to, because I don't like seeing you get hurt." Carlos furrows his eyebrows a little, but doesn't say anything. "I uh… I heard her talking to her friends about you, Carlos. She knows that you like her and that you wanted to ask her out. She uh… She was going to say yes…" Carlos looks up at that with hope. "And then stand you up on the date itself." He finishes quietly. He tries not to look at Carlos' face. But by the way his body slouches a little, he already knows what his face must look like.

He sighs. "At first I wanted to warn you, but then you were already walking up to her. And I could see her laughing when she saw you coming and she was giggling towards her friends… I just… I didn't see another option. I just jumped in and asked her out first. I know, I should have told you. But I rather wanted you to be mad at me then get hurt by her…" He adds in a near whisper, still trying to avoid looking at his friend's face.

"Carlos?"

But when Carlos doesn't say anything, he finally lifts his head and immediately wishes he didn't. Carlos' face looks completely blank. But it looks strained. James can see how hard he is trying to keep his emotions at bay. His nostrils are still flaring, but this time not because of anger, but because he is trying hard not to cry. James' heart breaks.

"Oh, buddy…" He starts and tries to reach out towards his friend. But the Latino quickly jumps up from the bed.

"Just don't." He says, his voice already quivering.

He turns his back towards his friend again, while James watches him in concern.

"I can't believe this is happening again. I should have known. I should have known she would do something like this. Because who would ever want to go out with me, right?" He says, a heartbreaking chuckle adding to it as he sniffles.

"Carlos…" James tries, but Carlos quickly turns around and stops him.

"No, don't…" he warns and James can now see the tears threatening to spill. "It's true, alright? When has a girl ever asked me out, huh? On their own free will?" James opens his mouth to say something. "None, that's who. No girl has ever wanted to go out with me…"

"Carlos, that is not true…" James softly starts as he gets up and walks towards his friend.

"But it is true, James!" Carlos chokes out, tears now starting to fall freely. "Remember the Jennifers? They only asked me, because they couldn't find anyone else. And then I still had to dress up as three different people, because they didn't like the real me. And then Sasha came along, who turned out to be an actress hired by Gustavo to break my heart. And not to forget those two girls Kendall and Jo tried to set me up with… Don't think I didn't know how they manipulated the girls to make sure I would choose them. Because of course they didn't like all the stuff I like. Nobody does and nobody likes the real me…" He says, sniffling and finishing with a small whimper.

"Carlos, no, don't talk like that…" James tries, feeling more and more concerned for his friend.

"Why not? It's the truth, isn't it? I mean, even you guys don't want me to be myself half of the time. I mean, Logan keeps trying to keep my helmet away from me, Kendall even flat out told me not to be completely myself during that stupid speed dating thing and you won't even let me tag along when you're looking for dates." James opens his mouth. "And don't say that's not the reason, because I know it is." The brunet closes his mouth again and sighs.

"Why can't girls just like me for me? I know I'm not as smart as Logan or as confident as Kendall or as pretty as you, but am I really that horrible that they won't even give me a chance?" He asks in such a sad voice, that James feels like his heart is being wrenched out of his chest.

"God, Carlos, of course not. You are not horrible. You are one of the greatest people I know." He tries to assure and puts his hands on his friend's shoulders.

"Right. If I am that great, why won't girls go out with me? And why does every other guy but you guys laugh at me or make fun of me? Face it, James, I am not perfect like you. I'm a loser and you shouldn't hang out with me. I just bring you down…" He says, his voice breaking.

"Carlos, that is ridiculous. First of all, I am far from perfect and secondly, you are definitely not a loser. You are the funniest and most cheerful person I know. You can bring happiness into any situation and you light up any room you walk into. You are such a ball of energy and so goofy. You don't care what other people think of you, which is something I admire so much about you. See, I would never be able to pull that off. I mean, why do you think I put so much time and effort into my appearance?" James tries to explain to him with a small smile.

"But that's exactly the problem… I never cared what other people thought of me, because my papi always taught me to be proud of who I am. And I wanted to be, I tried so hard to do that. But other people don't care about. They don't care how happy you look, it just makes them want to bring you down harder, it seems. I try to be happy and cheer everyone up by acting goofy or distracting them with some crazy stunt. But they don't even care… They just end up getting mad and yelling at me, calling me stupid or other mean names and I just…" He breathes heavily. "I try so hard…" His voice gets lost and a choked sob comes out. He tries to stop it and turns his back towards his friend.

He tries to walk away, but James quickly grabs him and pulls him against his chest in a tight hug. "James, let go." He just holds on tighter. "James, please…" He pleads, but the brunet can hears his voice breaking further and holds on, until finally, the walls come down and he starts to sob. His body becomes weaker, until finally his legs give out. James holds him and guides them to the floor. "Shh, just let it all out. Just let it go…" He soothes as he leans his head on top of Carlos' and holds him tightly while he finally lets go of every emotion he has been bottling up for a while now.

After some time, Carlos manages to calm down. He sniffles somewhat still, while James lets him go. He wipes his tears away and looks at his tall friend with a small smile.

"Feeling better?" James asks him.

"Yeah, I think so." Carlos tells him quietly, laughing slightly. "Wow… I don't know where that came from."

"Well, that's what happens when you pretend to stay happy all the time while not letting out your real feelings." James explains, while they both lean against Carlos' bed with their backs.

Carlos looks down guiltily.

"Why didn't you say something, dude? You know you can talk to us." He asks in a worried tone.

"Yeah, I know." The raven haired teen responds, his head still hanging low.

"Come here, man." James says once again and pulls his friend against him for a tight hug, shorter this time. "You scared me, buddy. The way you were talking about yourself. You don't really believe that, do you?"

Carlos shrugs a little and plays with his shoelaces. James sighs.

"Carlos… hey…" He pleads and Carlos finally looks up, his eyes still full of pain. "I meant what I said, you know. About you being one of the greatest people I know? And that I think you are funny and caring and nice and that I admire how you are always yourself, no matter what anyone says or does? Because I really do, bud. And you shouldn't change who you are for anyone. If someone doesn't like you for you, then screw them. It just means they're not good enough anyway." He says with a smile.

Carlos can't help but smile as well. "And I also meant the part about me being far from perfect. Carlos, everyone gets insecure now and then. The trick is to get up and move on and be yourself. Which is something I'm still having trouble with." He laughs a little. "I mean, why else would I be so obsessed with hair products, a comb and a mirror…" He trails off.

"You just like looking good. There's nothing wrong with that." Carlos quietly tells him.

"No, but doing it because I care about what others think is." James replies.

"Okay, well maybe that is less of a good thing…" Carlos tries to remain positive, making James chuckle. "But… that's not all that you are and that's not the only reason why girls like you. I mean, sure, you do have your looks, which really don't need 2 hours of work every morning hogging up the bathroom…" James outright laughs at that. "But, still, you have them. But more importantly, James. You are a gentle and caring person, who will do anything to protect his friends. Even luring out a fight with your best friend to avoid getting his feelings hurt." Carlos finishes the last sentence with a small smile. "Thanks for that, James. And thanks for uh, comforting me and saying all these things. I uh… I really appreciate it…" He softly tells his friend.

"Don't mention it, bud. You're my best friend. It's what we do." James replies and he bumps shoulders with his shorter friend. "But uh…"

"What?"

"Were those all the nice things you had to say about me? Because I had a whole list…" He says and Carlos cracks up. "What, I'm serious! You said, what? Like three things? Give me some credit here." Carlos can't stop laughing and James can't help but crack a smile at that himself. "Come on, dude, spill. I know you like more about me." He says as he pushes Carlos down on the floor and sits on him.

"Oof, get off me…" Carlos says in between laughter.

"No, tell me some other stuff. Am I not funny enough for you, is that it?" He threatens as he starts to tickle his friend.

"No, you are, you are! Stop it!" Carlos calls out while still laughing. "Yes, you're funny!" He laughs and James sits up again.

"Hm." He says, tapping a finger on his chin to show he's thinking. "Yeah not good enough." He says, before tickling Carlos again. Carlos' pleas for him to stop and his loud laughter can be heard all the way down the hall, making other people shake their heads but smile at the same time.

After a while, the guys are sitting against the bed again. They're leaning on each other as they try to catch their breaths.

"Thanks, James. I needed that." Carlos tells him, now wiping off tears of laughter.

"No problem, dude. It's what brothers are for." He mentions with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess we are brothers, huh?" Carlos says and he thinks about it for a moment, both of them smiling fondly. "Hey, James?" James looks up and sees Carlos looks serious again.

"Hm?"

"I don't agree with what you said earlier. About you being far from perfect. Because you are. You're perfect to me just the way you are. So what if you're obsessed with Cuda products? And so what if you care about the way you look when you're going outside to meet girls? You are my best friend and I'll love ya even if you lost all your hair." Carlos says with a smile. James looks horrified and grabs his head.

"You think I'm losing my hair?" He asks in fear. Carlos rolls his eyes with a smirk.

"No, you moron. I'm saying that no matter what happens, I will always be here for you." He tells his friend in all honesty. James smiles at him.

"Right back at ya buddy. Never ever change." They sit in silence for a moment, until James' smile fades. "Wait, does this mean I'm going to be stuck with you forever?"

"Yup. We will grow old together and become two old men sitting on the front porch of our house yelling at kids to get off the lawn." Carlos tells him with a smirk, laying his head on his friends' shoulder and giving an exaggerated sigh of content, as if it's been his dream all along.

"And where do our wives play into all of this?" James asks him, trying to hide a smirk of his own.

"Wives? Psh, who needs wives? You've got me, dude. And I've got you. I'll be the strong protector and you can be the one that spends all day in the bathroom making himself look pretty." Carlos tells him, eyeing him from his shoulder for a reaction.

James throws him a playful glare and pushes his head off his shoulder. Carlos just laughs.

Suddenlu the door opens and Kendall and Logan pop their heads in.

"Everything okay in here?" They asks with smiles. Logan's face becomes concerned when he sees the tear tracks on Carlos' cheeks and his puffy, red eyes.

Carlos and James exchange a glance and smile.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Carlos tells them.

"Alright, well, we were just wondering if you were up for some movies and snacks?" Kendall offers. James hops up and helps Carlos stand as well, before rushing out of the room and plopping onto the couch to get the best seat.

Kendall quickly follows and they start to wrestle for the best spot.

Logan lags a little and walks beside Carlos as they head out as well.

"So, you're sure everything is fine?" he asks in concern. Carlos looks up at him.

"Yeah, just some girl trouble and some bottled up emotions." When Logan looks even more concerned, he quickly puts his hands up. "Don't worry. James already made me realize I shouldn't and next time I'll talk to you guys and let it out." Logan nods.

"And the girl thing?" Logan asks as they step over the wrestling taller guys on the couch, before settling in on the best seats on the couch.

Carlos shrugs. "I don't think she was right for me anyway. Besides, James already took care of it by asking her out instead." Logan raises an eyebrow. The two taller guys finally settle on sitting on the floor once they realize the two shorter ones have already taken the seat they were fighting over. "Hey, James? Where are you taking Savannah anyway?" Carlos asks his friend, who looks at him from the floor.

"Oh, actually, I'm not taking her anywhere." He informs the raven-haired teen, who frowns.

"What do you mean? You're not standing her up, are you? Because that is really a mean thing to do." He says in response.

James smiles mischievously. "No, after you stormed off, I went back to her, told her that I heard what she was planning and that I only asked her out so you wouldn't. Told her she didn't deserve you anyway, that she is an awful human being and that our date was off."

Carlos looks at him in shock. "Wow. Thanks, dude."

James shrugs. "No problem, buddy. It's the least I could do after what she almost did. And besides, I was already going on another date anyway."

Carlos chuckles and pats his shoulder. "Well, if you ever need anything, man, I owe you one."

"Huh, that is good to hear, 'cause I'm going on a double date and my girl has a sister who kinda needs a date as well. So, make sure you dress up nice this Friday by 8, okay?" James tells him, patting his knee. "Thanks, buddy, knew I could count on you." He turns back to the TV, while Carlos sits in some shock.

"Best friends for life, huh?" Logan whispers as he leans in with an amused chuckle.

Carlos shakes his head. "hey, James. Want some popcorn?" he asks from out of nowhere, grabbing the bowl with both hands.

"Ooh, yeah, gimme." James says as he turns towards his best friend. He holds out his hands, when the entire bowl is dumped onto his head.

Logan and Kendall bust up laughing, while Logan bumps fists with a smirking Carlos, who grabs some popcorn from a second bowl and directs his eyes towards the screen.

**A/N Okay, took me all day to write :P But I finished my Jarlos bromance one-shot for Jarlos day **

**Happy to hear what everyone thinks I am in a pretty weird mood right now, have been for some hours, which is probably why I'm starting to feel so tired right now :P**

**Could have something to do with all those Carlos videos and pictures posted tonight. Especially the shirtless one and the Cargan one. Thank you, Dustin I can now go to sleep happy ;)**

**I'm also writing part 2 of Charmed, so expect that up hopefully tomorrow, otherwise Sunday. I'll see if I can update another story as well.**

**Let me know what you think and otherwise: Happy Jarlos day Sad btw that not a lot of people wrote the one-shots. Oh well, I still love the idea. Can we go for some Cargan and Kenlos as well? Kenlos slash needs some love… It is becoming my favorite pairing, because it is so much more secretive and not so out in the open like Cargan ;)**

**Okay, I am heading to bed before I crazy talk some more :P Goodnight folks!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	4. Charmed: Part 2

Charmed: Part 2

When the Halliwell sisters wake up the next morning, they are surprised to see the four teens already sitting at the dining table. Leo is cooking, while Wyatt is happily playing with some blocks with Kendall.

"Good morning." Piper says with some confusion. She goes to stand by her husband, while keeping an eye on Wyatt. "You cook now, huh?"

"Well, he was already playing with Wyatt, so I offered to make breakfast." Leo replies.

"Wow, you're good with him." Phoebe tells Kendall as she watches him.

"I have a younger sister." He replies with a shrug.

"Just another clue that he's the one, right?" Prue tells Piper and Leo and they both nod.

"So, since we're all here…" Piper then mentions after clapping her hands once. She opens her mouth to say something, when Logan interrupts.

"God, James… Yes, your hair is fine." He says in exasperation. James looks at him in confusion.

"Uh, I didn't say anything, dude." He mentions.

Carlos gasps. "Oh my god… Now you can hear both me and James!" he calls out in glee.

Logan groans. "You have got to be kidding me." He says with a shake of his head. "Why you two? Why not Kendall or one of them?" He asks in a plea, waving his hands towards the three sisters.

"Hey, James, let's see which one of us can gross Logan out more." Carlos suggests to James, who grins in agreement.

"Guys, no, come on… That's so not…" he starts to say, but then his eyes widen in shock. "Ok, wow. Please make them stop." He says, while still looking at his grinning friends. The two turn towards each other and gain a twinkle in their eyes, before turning back.

"Ok, that is quite enough out of you two." Piper scolds then, after Logan's face pales and the two high five and laugh out loud.

"Now, let's discuss some stuff. First of all, what I would like to know is; how did you suddenly get these powers? Did one of you use a spell or something?" Prue asks the guys. They exchange glances and shrug.

"Logan, you said you have a Book of Shadows. Did you maybe read something from it?" Phoebe asks him. He looks around at the faces of his friends.

"What? No. Why would I read anything from it? I don't believe in that stuff." He says, albeit a little nervously.

"Then why do you have it?" Phoebe asks him.

"Yeah and how did you get that book anyway?" Carlos suddenly asks him as well.

"Uh, well… uh…" Logan stammers and clears his throat. "I kind of… I mean, we, kind of got it as a Christmas present last year from our parents." He sheepishly answers, avoiding his friend's gazes by looking at the tabletop instead.

"Whoa, what?" James exclaims.

"What do you mean we got it from our parents? Why didn't we know about it?" Kendall adds.

"Yeah, why didn't you tell us, Logan? And why did they send it to us?" Carlos asks, his arms now crossed, looking a little disappointed.

Logan sighs. "Look, I was the only one home when it was delivered. I opened it and read the note and thought it was stupid, since it's not real, and then put it away. I didn't tell you, because I didn't believe in that stuff and didn't want you to go crazy." He directs his last sentence more towards Carlos. "I didn't think it meant anything. I just thought maybe our parents were playing a joke. In the note they mentioned something about us needing it soon enough and that we would know what to do with it. How was I supposed to know it would cause all of this?"

"Did you ever read something in it?" Prue asks him with a scrutinizing look.

"Not intentionally anyway." He then suddenly pipes up. "It was really dark one night and I couldn't sleep. I grabbed a book from the shelf and with really sleepy eyes I opened it and started to read aloud. Only then did I notice it wasn't one of my medical books, so I closed it and put it back."

"When was that?" Piper asks.

"I don't know, a few days ago?" He answers and the women share knowing looks.

"Well, that would explain it." Phoebe mentions and the others nod. The boys frown.

"It's how we got our powers, too. Phoebe said some spell, which unleashed our powers, which then started to appear after a few days." Piper explains.

"But I still don't get how they have one Book of Shadows between the four of them. I mean, they're not even related, right?" Prue mentions and the guys shake their heads. "So, how is that possible?"

"Well, they must have a very close bond. One that's just as close as brothers and I'm guessing their families are close as well and maybe even made a pact years ago to make sure this moment would happen." Leo explains.

"But you said the Elders chose one of them for the special powers?" Phoebe asks and the others look at her in exasperation.

"Phoebe!" She immediately gives an apologetic look towards her sisters.

"Wait, special powers? What kind of special powers?" Carlos asks, immediately intrigued.

"Relax, she probably means the powers we already have and are going to have." Logan adds.

"Actually, no. Only one of you will receive these powers and since two of you already have powers, one of the two left will be the one." Leo tells them. Carlos and Kendall look at each other in some shock and amazement.

"How do they decide which one of us gets them?" Kendall asks in a quiet voice.

"Well, they already have. Each of you was given a power, which belongs to you. These powers aren't easy to deal with and only someone with a pure heart will be worthy of accepting them. These powers haven't been handed to anyone in over a hundred years. I guess it must mean something that the Elders have decided to release them now. One of you must really be special." Leo mentions with a smile.

Again, Carlos and Kendall look at each other with some awe.

"So, what happens now though? I mean, do we just wait for these powers to develop?" Kendall asks them.

"That is kind of the natural way to do it. But we were asked to help you for a reason. So, we can help you train them." Piper tells the guys.

"But we don't even have our powers yet." Carlos reminds them as he points towards Kendall and himself.

"Oh, you probably do, they just haven't surfaced yet." Leo replies.

"But that still means you can't train us." Carlos responds with a small pout.

The others exchange glances. He has a point.

"Hey, don't worry about it, buddy. Maybe we can keep Wyatt company. I'm sure he has lots of cool toys to play with, right?" Kendall asks the tiny blond, who giggles. Carlos' eyes light up when he hears the mentioning of toys.

Everyone eats breakfast and gets dressed, before the women take Logan and James aside to try and train their powers little by little in the basement. Carlos and Kendall stay in the living room with Wyatt, who is happy to orb all his toys downstairs, plus some that aren't even his.

When the training is over a few hours later, everyone comes out of the basement looking exhausted. Logan holds his head in his hands, rubbing at his temples, wincing every once in a while. James looks frustrated, while Phoebe pats him on the back.

"Don't worry. Just keep trying and soon I'm sure you'll be conjure up more than just your comb." She assures him. He just sighs and walks off.

"Wow, that was difficult…" Prue starts as the women reach the kitchen. Piper nods in agreement. They grab some drinks and head for the living room.

There they find Kendall passed out on the couch, Logan sitting on a chair, holding his head and James also in a chair, again trying to conjure up something besides his lucky comb.

The women look at the floor in surprise, where Wyatt is giggling loudly and clapping his hands, while Carlos reads him a story, using funny voices for all the characters.

The women go to sit down on another couch and just watch in amazement at the immature and child-like teenager taking care of their two-year old.

They watch for a little while, until suddenly Wyatt looks around and quickly puts a protection shield around himself and surprisingly, Carlos. Carlos looks up in confusion.

"Uh, what's going on?" He asks as he tries to touch the shield carefully.

The three witches get up and look around. "Wyatt, what's wrong, sweetie? Did you sense something?" Piper asks him as she kneels before him.

James quickly wakes Kendall up and the three friends sit upright. They stare at Carlos surrounded with the shield with tilted heads.

"What's with the blue bubble?" James asks, pointing towards him.

"It's Wyatt's protection shield. He must have senses danger and thought to protect his new playmate." Piper tells them. The guys snort a little, while Carlos glares at them.

"You might want to stay serious a little, since this could be a demon about to attack." Phoebe reminds them and their grins fade immediately.

"Just stay close to us." Prue tells them. They nod and gulp, while the women look around carefully for any sign of enemies approaching.

The guys cry out when the front door explodes. A large creature with a blue face and black eyes stands before them, holding out a large claw like hand. Their eyes widen in fear when he approaches them.

He grins when he spots Wyatt and Carlos and tries to walk there, but the Halliwell sisters are too fast. Prue smashes him into the wall with just her eyes, while Piper lifts her hands and blows him up.

The guys stare at the empty spot near the wall with shocked eyes.

"Hm. He must have been a first level demon." Phoebe comments in an unimpressed manner. Prue nods with her arms crossed and the three head back into the living room, leaving the guys with their mouths agape and then quicly following them.

"Did you notice how he was heading for Wyatt, though?" Prue asks absentmindedly. Piper nods as she watches her son, who has let down the shield and is tiredly crawling into Carlos' lap.

The teenager hardly seems to notice, taking it as if it's the most natural thing in the world. His eyes are wide and full of excitement.

"Wow, you guys were awesome! The way that guy exploded like that, so cool…" He breathes at the three women in awe, while his friends sit down on the couch together.

"Why did Wyatt put a shield over him and Carlos? I think there's something we're missing here." Piper says quietly, making sure only her sisters can hear her. Carlos in the meantime tries to make Wyatt smile, who has become a little fussy. "Why don't I take him upstairs for a nap?" Piper offers and grabs her son from the teen, who smiles at her.

"He's cute." Carlos tells her genuinely, tickling the boy one more time and slightly waving at him, as Piper holds him and takes him upstairs.

That night, after training some more for two of the guys, everyone is fast asleep. Almost everyone, anyway. Logan keeps tossing and turning, unable to tune out the growing list of voices crowding in his head. Eventually he sighs and opens his eyes. He stares at the ceiling for another moment, before sitting up and deciding to get some water. The moment he sits up, he suddenly realizes one of the other sleeping bags is empty.

He looks around, throwing his own sleeping bag off of him. He frowns.

"Carlos?" He whispers, but gets no response. He gets up as quiet as possible, as not to disturb the others and starts to look around for his missing friend. "Carlos?" He whispers a little louder, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He winces and puts his hands on his head, shutting his eyes at the loud voices. He tries to focus on Carlos, making he can hear his thoughts. Just then, one voice stands out and makes him cry out in pain.

"Logan?" He hears Kendall whisper suddenly. He looks up at him through the darkness.

"Kendall, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" He asks silently.

"A little, but what are you doing up anyway?" His friend asks when Logan steps closer.

"My head was starting to hurt from all hearing all these thoughts, so I got up to get some water. But then I noticed Carlos was missing and I just…"

"Wait. Did you say Carlos is missing?" Kendall interrupts. Logan looks at him, before wincing at the voices again. The blond looks around and indeed finds Carlos' sleeping bag empty. He quickly gets up and heads into the kitchen. "Carlos?" He whispers loudly.

"Don't bother, Kendall. I already checked. He's not here." Logan informs him.

"You don't think he went upstairs, do you?" Kendall asks in a worried tone. This would be so like their friend, to go snooping around where he wasn't supposed to.

"In the middle of the night? While we could be attacked by demons at any moment? I don't think even Carlos would risk that." Logan tells him.

"Do you also have a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach?" Kendall suddenly asks him.

"Like something is wrong? Yeah. Yeah, I do." Logan admits. They share a look of concern.

"We better wake up James." Kendall suggests and Logan nods.

"Don't bother. You guys have no idea how to be quiet when people are sleeping, do you?" James groggily whispers.

"Sorry, James, it's just that…" Logan starts.

"Carlos is missing. Yeah, I heard." He mentions, before also getting up. He stretches a little and then frowns. "Why is the front door open?"

The other two turn around and suddenly see the front door is wide open. Their eyes grow bigger.

"How did we miss that?" Logan asks as they hurry forward and look outside.

"I guess we were too busy too look for him inside the house." Kendall tells him.

"He wouldn't really go outside by himself at this hour, would he?" Logan asks his friends.

"Not willingly, that's for sure." James replies. The other two look at him in disbelief and fear, but it's exactly what they were thinking.

"We better wake everyone else up." Kendall suggests, while Logan stares at the night sky with deep worry etched on his face.

"Don't worry, man. We'll find him." James tells him, squeezing his shoulder. Logan just nods.

After a few minutes, everyone is up and downstairs. Leo orbs down as well.

"He's definitely not in the house anymore. I tried to sense him, but his powers haven't fully developed yet." He informs everyone.

"Alright, well, we're going to have to go look for him." Piper says, tiredly rubbing her forehead.

"But he could be anywhere." Phoebe tells them.

"Are you sure he wouldn't run off like this by himself?" Prue asks the guys, who look more and more worried as time goes on. They shake their heads. "I guess we don't have another option. Leo, could you check with the Elders, see if they've heard anything?"

Leo nods and is about to orb away, when Wyatt starts to cry upstairs. The women and Leo frown.

"That doesn't sound like his normal cry." Piper mentions. They quickly rush upstairs. They find the boy standing up in his crib, crying his little eyes out and looking very upset. "Oh, honey… What's wrong?" Piper soothes and picks him up. She holds him against her and rocks him gently. Then, suddenly they both orb out.

Everyone stares in slight shock.

"Uh, what just happened?" Prue asks.

"I think Wyatt just orbed them both out." Leo explains.

"Yes, thank you, captain obvious. But why did he do it?" Phoebe asks him. He suddenly looks up.

"I think Piper has found out why. She's calling for me." He suddenly tells them with some worry visible in his eyes. The guys exchange glances. "Come, you better hold on. I have a feeling all of us might be needed."

The guys gulp, before holding on to each other as Leo orbs them out.

When they come to a standstill, they gasp.

"Okay, why are we next to the freeway?" Prue asks. They quickly hurry towards Piper, who is holding an even more upset sounding Wyatt. She is staring at something in the distance. Phoebe follows her gaze.

"I think that might be it." She quietly says.

The others follow her gaze and their eyes widen in shock. They stare at Carlos, who is in the middle of the freeway, walking as if in a trance, his hand outstretched and a strange light dangling in front of him.

The guys immediately step forward, but are stopped by the others.

"You can't go out there. It's too dangerous." Leo warns them.

"But what about Carlos? It's too dangerous for him too. He could get killed out there." James exclaims as he watches Carlos narrowly avoid an oncoming car.

"We can't just stand here and watch!" Kendall exclaims towards the others. "Can't you just orb him out or something?" he directs towards Leo.

"I'm sorry. We can't risk getting exposed." The whitelighter tells him.

"So, what? We're just supposed to watch as he gets himself killed? Why is he out there anyway?" Kendall asks them.

"I don't know. It's like he's under a spell or something and I'll bet you anything that weird light has something to do with it." Prue says angrily as she stares helplessly at the boy wandering slowly across the freeway.

"I'm getting him out of there." Kendall says determinedly, getting ready to jump the railing, when Leo grabs hold of him. "Just let me go, I have to help him."

"Kendall, no, it's too dangerous." James tells him.

"I don't care! I have to help him!" he cries out as he struggles in Leo and now James' arms as well.

Everyone watches as suddenly a huge truck stars to come closer.

"It's coming right at him…" Logan says as he walks closer to the railing with huge eyes.

"Leo, do something!" Phoebe cries out.

"I can't. We can't risk the exposure!" Leo tells her, but it's clear he's struggling with it as well.

"Prue, maybe you can move him." Piper suggests. Prue focused on the teen and tries everything to move him out of the way. But he doesn't move an inch.

"It's not working. It must be the spell. It's completely controlling him." She explains.

"What if you move the truck?" Logan suddenly suggests.

"But what if the driver gets hurt?" Piper asks.

"We can at least try." Prue speaks out. She holds out a hand and takes a deep breath. Leo and James release their grips on Kendall as everyone holds their breaths. The truck comes closer and is just about to hit. Prue is just about to move her hand, when something swoops by, startling her. The truck races by and the guys scream.

Everyone stares at the spot Carlos was just in with their mouths agape.

On the other side of the freeway, two figures roll onto the sand for a moment, before coming to a standstill. A groan comes from one of them, making the other look up in concern.

"Carlos, are you okay?" Carlos slowly sits up, heavily blinking when his vision swims a little.

"Whoa… What happened?" He asks, slightly dazed and rubbing his head. He looks around and frowns. "Kendall, what are you doing here?"

On the other side, everyone is still completely in shock over what they just saw.

"Did Kendall just save Carlos from an oncoming truck on the freeway?" Phoebe asks.

"I think he did." Prue answers.

"By using lightening speed?" Phoebe adds. The others nod slowly, their mouths still open.

"I guess we were wrong about who's receiving those special powers." Piper replies and the others shake their heads in disbelief.

"I didn't even see him…" James breathes out. Logan just stares and points a finger towards the same spot.

"That… He…" He says, before promptly fainting in James' arms.

**A/N Alright, part 2! Next part will show Carlos' powers emerging slowly. If anyone fully read the first part, you'll know what powers he has ;)**

**Thanks for the support on these stories, guys I know it's just to cure my writer's block, so they're not exactly awesome :P But I hope you like them anyway, until I can finish my slightly better stories **

**Happy Easter, guys and here's hoping to a lot more Carlos via YouTube and all ;)**

**Love, Baxxie**


	5. When Everything Crumbles

When Everything Crumbles

It's been about fifteen years since Big Time Rush split up. The guys decided it was time to stop at their highpoint, but they stayed best friends.

Kendall got back together with Jo after she returned from New Zealand and they got married soon after. They moved to a quiet suburban town in San Diego, where they are raising their two children, Kendra (4) and Kacey (8). While Kendall coaches a college ice hockey team, he writes songs in his spare time. Jo still acts in movies now and then, but until the children are a little older, she only goes for small roles and commercials.

In the same neighborhood also live Logan and Camille with their three children, Anna (3), Carly (5) and CJ (8). Logan and Camille finally got together after Logan got up the courage to tell her she should be with him instead of Steven. It took some time for her to be convinced, or at least let him think he was convincing her. In truth, she broke up with Steve the moment Logan showed interest in her again and just wanted to slightly punish him for keeping her at a distance like that for so long. Logan has finally become the doctor he always wanted to be, while Camille has become a method acting coach for upcoming actors.

A few houses down live James and his girlfriend Rachel. They have been together for a few years now, but have yet to tie the knot. James has a son, Nathan (8) from a previous marriage and together they have a daughter, Hailey (3). James has started up his own modeling agency, while Rachel is a kindergarten teacher at the local school. The guys have been asking their friend what he is waiting for and he has happily informed them that he has bought a ring and is preparing to propose any moment now.

And then across from James, live the Garcia family. Carlos and Delilah have been together for 12 years and have been happily married for 9 of them. They both always wanted a big family, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that they had four kids and are soon expecting number 5. Shay is the eldest, being 8. She has a twin brother and sister, Michael and Molly of 5. The youngest right now is Noah of 3. Pretty soon they will have another brother or sister and their parents couldn't be happier. Delilah is a fashion designer, who is lately working very close with James and his models. Carlos is a comic book designer, with the very well known series about the Hockey Heads, a group of best friends who started off playing hockey and ended up as singers.

Just a week ago, the guys received an offer from Gustavo Rocque, their old record producer to release a new album and maybe do some performances. All because of the 25 year anniversary since they were discovered. Today they are heading into the studio since a long time ago with their wives to record their first song since 15 years.

Everyone is excited, even the kids can tell that today is going to be special. All the couples kiss their kids goodbye as they are left behind with their sitters. They head outside and into their cars as they drive off together. Carlos keeps a close eye on his 8,5 months pregnant wife, who insisted she wanted to come, despite him begging her not to. Even though she is not due for a few more weeks, they don't want to take any chances. All the other kids were born early, so this one could be as well. Therefore, they have packed an emergency bag, just in case.

When Rocque Records comes into view, the guys start to smile and memories flood their minds. They park their cars and stand before the building for one more moment, taking it in together.

"Well, is everyone ready?" Kendall asks finally. The guys exchange glances and nod. "Here we go." He offers, before opening the door.

When everyone is inside, they smile and breathe in the familiar smell. They walk through the halls and look at the new and old posters on the walls. At the end of the hall they stop and watch their old selves smiling back at them.

"Wow." Rachel breathes out as she looks at it. "Just look at you guys."

"Yeah. You look so…" Delilah starts. "Young." She finishes with a smirk. Carlos sends a glare her way. "What?" She asks, feigning innocence. "I'm just saying, you look so different. It seems like ages ago. I mean, look, James doesn't even have any grey hairs yet."

James lets out a squeal, grabbing his hair. "Oh my god… I have a grey hair? Where?" He cries out in a high voice. Delilah snorts.

"You are just awful." Carlos quietly tells her, while Rachel tries to calm James down.

"He makes it way too easy." Delilah tells him. He shakes his head at her, while the others try to hide their laughter.

"Dogs!" A loud voice suddenly yells behind them. They turn around to find an older looking Gustavo behind them, but other than having even less hair and a few more wrinkles, he looks no different.

"Gustavo!" The guys yell out with a grin. They rush up to him and gather him into a group hug, before he has time to protest. He struggles in their grasps and the women laugh.

"Guys, you're here!" A female voice calls out. The guys let go of Gustavo immediately and look up.

"Kelly?" Logan questions. They look at the African American woman before them. She, too, has hardly changed, well, if you don't the sleeping baby in her arms.

"Kelly! We've missed you so much!" Carlos calls out with his arms wide, rushing for her. But just before he reaches her, he stops and hugs her from the side, gently as to not to harm the baby. Kelly smiles at him in surprise. The other guys follow his example quickly and then stare at the baby lovingly.

"Guys, it's only been a few months." She says, chuckling. They shrug and smile at her son.

"Oh my god, he is so adorable." James speaks out first, making funny faces at the boy.

"What's his name?" Kendall asks her.

"Jonathan." She answers as she lovingly stares at the boy being doted over by the guys.

Kelly has continued to work for Gustavo all these years, even managing a few artists of her own now. And in that time, she met Jackson, a newly discovered artist signed by Rocque Records. They got married two years ago and all the guys were there with their families. Everyone kept in touch with Kelly and Gustavo. They just couldn't say goodbye. But since everyone has been so busy with their own lives, they don't see each other that much, thus being the reason why the guys haven't met Kelly's four-month-old son until now.

Carlos smiles at the boy lovingly, stroking his cheek.

"Don't get too attached now, Carlitos. You'll have your own baby too look after soon." Kendall tells him with a pat on the back. Carlos glares and sticks his tongue out, making Kendall chuckle.

"Oh, that's right. Let me see her." Kelly mentions, pushing the guys aside. She gasps when she looks at Delilah's heavily pregnant belly. "Oh, look at you. You must be so ready to get this one out, huh?" Delilah sighs.

"Ugh, you have no idea." She breathes out, looking tired. She winces and rubs her belly for a moment. Carlos immediately grows concerned and rushes to her side.

"Come on, you should sit down." He tells her. She rolls her eyes, but smiles in gratitude when he helps her sit down. He fluffs up some pillows to put behind her back and even grabs a stool to put her feet on. "You want something to drink?" She chuckles slightly.

"No, I'm good. Thanks, though." She tells him. He nods and kisses her forehead.

Just then Gustavo lets out a grumble. "Can we go record now?" He whines. The guys roll their eyes and say goodbye to their wives before following him.

"It is so sweet to see how he takes care of you like that." Kelly tells Delilah, who lets out a tired sigh.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? He does get carried away sometimes, though." She muses, but keeps a smile on her face. Just then, she winces again and grabs her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Camille asks in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess this one just kicks really hard." Delilah says with a small smile, but it is clear in her eyes she's not fully sure herself.

"I can't believe you guys are about to have five kids." Jo muses. Delilah smiles.

"I know. It sounds so surreal." She replies.

"How does Carlos feel about it?" Rachel asks her. She chuckles.

"He seems really happy from the outside, but he is absolutely terrified." The others laugh. "I mean, we've always wanted a big family. But it's not exactly easy when they have our combined personalities." She sniggers. But then she gasps and grasps her stomach again, with her eyes clenched shut.

"Okay, maybe I should go get Carlos and Logan." Camille suggests, but Delilah grabs her hand.

"No, I'm fine." She says through gritted teeth. "Come on, let's just sit here and catch up a little." The others reluctantly sit down, but they keep a very concerned eye on her.

The guys can't hide their excitement when they get into the vocal booth.

"Wow, do you guys remember when we got in here the first time?" Kendall asks his friends. They grin and look up as they remember their first moment here.

"Ugh, it's so real, I can almost taste those feathers again." Logan says with a grimace. The others laugh.

"Alright, dogs, need I remind you that I have saved the studio time just for you. I have dozen of groups lined up to record new songs. But I turned them all down for you. So get in there and be serious, or I will have you removed from the building!" Gustavo screams. The guys snigger.

"Do you think he'll ever change?" James quietly asks.

"Well, I think that vein on his forehead is new." Carlos pipes up. The two giggle like teen boys at the joke. Gustavo grumbles, while Kendall slaps their arms.

"Just get ready to sing, you morons." He tells them with a chuckle.

When the laughter dies down, Gustavo starts to explain what the song is about. The guys look at the lyrics on the TV screen in the booth, but Carlos can't help but get distracted. He slowly moves his head towards the door, lost in thought.

"So, Carlos, you get to sing the first part of this and…" Gustavo trails off when he sees the man isn't even paying attention. "Dog! Are you even listening to me?" Gustavo yells. Carlos still doesn't look up, when James nudges him. He blinks and looks up. "If you don't want to sing the first part, I can give it to someone else."

Carlos' eyes grow. "Me? I get to sing the first part?" he asks in disbelief. The others smile at him.

"Just do it justice, so I won't change my mind." Gustavo tells him.

"Worried about Delilah?" Logan quietly asks as if reading his mind.

"A little. She's been having stomach pains all day. What if it's contractions and we don't even realize it?" He wonders, the worry visible on his entire face.

"Look, after four kids, I'm pretty sure she'll realize when they're contractions, buddy." Logan tells him reassuringly, patting him on the back.

"Hey, she was only pregnant three times alright, we have a pair of twins." Carlos says matter-of-factly. Logan chuckles.

"Still, I'm sure you would both be able to tell. Her because of the pain and you, well… Because of the pain." He informs his friend with a grin. Carlos grimaces and shudders at the memories.

"Dude… I can't wait to see what bruises you end up with this time. Last time, when she broke your hand… Oh my god…" James says between laughter. Kendall laughs right along with him.

"No, the time before that, with the twins? When he came back with a black eye and missing a tooth?" Kendall says, and James laughs even harder.

"Hey, that was an accident! She didn't mean to hit me." Carlos says. The guys turn to him with raised eyebrows. "Okay, maybe she did. But the tooth was a total accident." They snicker at him.

They hear a frustrated sigh sounding through the vocal booth.

"Alright, this is the last time I'm warning you about this. Can we stop with the tea party and actually sing, or have you forgotten how to do that?" Gustavo tells them with an annoyed face. They smirk.

"Sorry, uncle Gustavo." They reply in unison, using the nickname all their kids have started to use. He acts like he hates it, but every time he sees the kids, they see his eyes lighting up. He grumbles again and turns off his mic.

They take their headphones and this time really look at the lyrics as the music starts up. The moment Carlos opens his mouth to sing, the door to the producer's booth flies open. Carlos looks up at Camille and Jo, who are both frantically moving their mouths and gesturing something. Gustavo starts to yell at them, but then suddenly quiets down. Camille quickly grabs the mic.

"Carlos, you need to come out here, it's Delilah…" She tells him. In a moment, time seems to freeze. Carlos drops his headphones and rushes out the door, the guys quickly following him.

The color drains from his face when he finds Delilah kneeling on the floor, her face scrunched up in pain. He holds her stomach and is gasping, while Rachel holds her and tries to calm her down.

"Delilah…" He breathes out. She looks up at him with pain in her eyes. He immediately moves to take Rachel's place as she goes to stand with James.

"We've already called an ambulance." Rachel tells him, but he hardly hears her.

"Carlos, something's wrong… It hurts so bad…" She tells him, crying out as another wave of pain crashes through her.

"Shh, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay. Just try to stay calm." He soothes her, but everyone can see the fear in his own eyes as he holds her.

Everyone watches in concern as she is strapped to a gurney and immediately rushed towards the awaiting ambulance as soon as it arrives. Carlos holds her hand the entire way and the others assure him they'll be there as soon as they can.

After explaining things to Gustavo and Kelly, who had to go back to work again, they rush off towards the parking lot and their cars.

"Do you think she's okay?" Rachel asks James as they sit in their car in silence, both in shock over the situation.

"Yeah, I'm sure everything is fine. Maybe this one is just more difficult than the ones before, you know?" He tells her. She smiles a little. But both direct their attention towards the road again. Because they know it's not true.

"God, I hope the baby is okay." Jo exclaims as her and Kendall drive together.

"Yeah, me too." Kendall admits. Jo squeezes his hand suddenly. He looks up and smiles at her, both seeking each other's comfort.

"What do you think is wrong?" Camille asks Logan, who is squeezing the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles have turned white. "You think something is wrong with the baby?" Logan doesn't respond, he just stares at the road. "Logan?" He tenses up when she puts a hand on his shoulder. He looks up and softens immediately when he sees the frightened look in her eyes. He sighs and releases one hand, grabbing hers and squeezing it.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we'll be there for them." He tells her in all honesty. She smiles at him, but neither one of them is reassured by that statement.

When they arrive at the hospital, they rush up to the nurses' desk, where a friendly nurse tells them where to go. They rush up towards the maternity ward and take place in the waiting area. While waiting, they contact Delilah's parents, who at once book a flight from New York. Carlos' parents unfortunately both passed away in a freak accident three years ago. It devastated Carlos and nearly tore apart his relationship with Delilah. But she refused to give up on him and they came out stronger than before.

Kendall also contacts his mom and sister, who do still live in the area. It doesn't take them long to show up and immediately they look worried. Mrs. Knight brings along her boyfriend, Ben, whom she met two years ago. Even Kendall likes him, which says something. Katie only recently got married to the love of her life, Evan and is now three months pregnant. She runs her own agency and who else could be her first client than Russell Brand?

They all join the already worried group of friends and family, all sitting together.

"Any word?" Jennifer Knight asks the tired looking bunch, their faces pale and full of concern.

Kendall shakes his head and his mother quickly sits by his side, holding the hand he doesn't have wrapped around his wife.

Everyone sits in silence, some falling asleep and others just staring at the door, anxious to hear what is going on. They can see doctors and nurses hurrying in and out, but not even Logan can get an answer out of any of them. James has already left the room once, feeling like he was going crazy and heading outside. But he was so afraid to miss any information, he hurried back.

They sit for hours, when suddenly the doors open. Kendall is the first to look up. His eyes widen and he goes to stand up right away.

"Carlos…" The others whip their heads up and look at their friend in shock. They stare at his worried and pale face, looking completely worn out.

Mrs. Knight rushes to his side.

"Oh honey…" He looks at everyone and tries to give them a smile. But it seems to be too much effort and he just looks back at the doors nervously. She hugs him and he falls into her embrace right away, grateful for the gesture he misses from his own mother.

"How are they? Is the baby ok?" Camille asks him anxiously.

"Yeah, the baby is fine, I think. They took her away to clean her up and stuff." He tells them softly, seemingly lost in thought.

"So, it's another girl?" Jo says excitedly. He looks away from the door.

"Huh?" he asks absentmindedly.

"Come on, sweetie, let's get you to sit down." Jennifer Knight offers and starts to lead him to a chair, but he walks away from her.

"No, I have to wait for the doctors." He says, his mind clearly somewhere else. The others share worried glances.

"Carlos? What's going on?" Kendall asks him.

"Is Delilah okay?" Rachel adds.

He is quiet for a moment and then turns back to them.

"I don't know…" He says in a near whisper. The others exchange looks of shock. "They… They told me to leave. Everything just seemed to go so fast, I just… She was in so much pain and it turns out the baby was in a breech position. They tried to stop the pain and to get the baby out safely at the same time. They finally did and then suddenly she was bleeding, a lot and they sent me out here, I don't…" He rambles on with a shaking voice. Mrs. Knight quickly heads for his side again, trying to calm him down.

"I'm sure everything is fine, honey. The doctors here are very professional. I'm sure they're doing everything they can to help her. Right, Logan?" She asks. The doctor looks up with scared eyes as everyone stares at him. He looks at Carlos and gulps.

"Well, uh, yeah. Bleeding can occur after giving birth, it doesn't have to be anything bad." He explains.

"Then why couldn't I stay?" Carlos asks in a tiny voice, laced with fear.

"Uh, well, they have to help her and they need full concentration to do that." He tries to explain, but he can't fully look his friend in the eye. Carlos nods and looks back at the door.

Right at that moment the door bursts open and a doctor comes out. Carlos hurries towards him right away.

"Uh, Mr. Garcia… Follow me." The man says. Carlos gulps and quickly leads the way. The others send him questioning looks, but the doctor avoids their gazes and follows after Carlos, letting the door fall shut behind him.

"What was that about?" Kendall asks with a frown.

"I don't know…" Logan replies, also frowning as he stares at the double doors that just closed.

Carlos hurries for his wife's room, stopping in the doorway with wide eyes. He looks at her, lying so still in the hospital bed. She looks pale, machines surrounding her, eyes closed as she sleeps. He takes a step forward when she opens her eyes. She turns towards him and smiles tiredly.

"Hey you…" She softly tells him.

"Hey…" He whispers back and slowly approaches her. He sits in the chair next to her and takes her hand. She weakly squeezes it.

"Come lay with me." She tells him as she starts to scoot away to make room for him. He puts his hand on her arm.

"Hey, don't move. I can just sit here." He tells her.

"No, I want you to lay with me." She tells him again with a weak smile. "Please." She pleads. He can now see the tears forming in her eyes. He swallows a lump and does as she asks. He lies down, resting his head on her chest, a hand on her stomach and another hand holding her own hand. She smiles as she uses her free hand to stroke his hair.

They lie in each other's arms, talking quietly, holding on to one and other tightly.

Everyone anxiously waits for Carlos to return. They watch the door closely as they sit there.

"Okay, it's been like two hours already. What are they doing in there?" James exclaims, getting up and looking angry. "I'm going to find out what is taking so long." He announces as he heads for the double doors.

"No, James, wait!" Logan says as moves up to head after him, when suddenly the doors open again.

Everyone is silent as they watch Carlos come out again. He doesn't look at anyone while he slowly walks forward with his head down.

"Carlos, what…" James asks him, but he just walks by him, ignoring everyone and rounding the corner.

"What was that?" Kendall questions as everyone stares at the spot Carlos just left in.

"I…" Logan starts, but then a doctor rushes out of the doors with a small bag in his hand.

"Uh, I'm looking for Mr. Garcia." He announces.

"He went around the corner." Logan tells him, looking a little angry and crossing his arms.

"Thanks." The doctor is about to walk off, when Logan stops him.

"Before you hurry after him, could you inform all of us about what's going on? We've been sitting here for hours, just waiting, while no one is talking to us. We're friends and family, too and we would appreciate it to be included in the situation." He sternly tells the doctor. The others exchange amazed looks.

The older man looks hesitant and nervous. At first it seems he wants to go after Carlos anyway, but then he sighs.

"Alright. When Mrs. Garcia got here, we found her baby to be in a breech position. We had to turn her around to get her out. Once we safely did this, we found the baby herself to be completely healthy. But then the complications started." He explains, making Logan frown.

"You mean when the bleeding started?" He asks the man, who looks a little surprised.

"Uh, yes. Mrs. Garcia started to lose a fair amount of blood and we nearly lost her." The women gasp. "Which is why we asked Mr. Garcia to leave. We needed room to treat her. She needed a blood transfusion and so we hooked up an IV and started the procedure." He explains and sighs, looking down.

"Okay, so she's doing fine now, right?" Logan asks him.

The man takes a deep breath and looks up. "We got the blood to her in time. Unfortunately, it was the wrong blood type." He tells them.

"Excuse me? What do you mean it was the wrong blood type? How can you mess up someone's blood type? It's right there on the chart." Logan accuses.

"Yes and it was, but I'm afraid it still happened. We're not sure how, but we are looking into that. I am very sorry for your loss." He tells them with sympathy, before heading in the same direction Carlos went.

"Wait… What just happened? Why did he say he's sorry for our loss? I thought the baby was fine." James asks Logan, while the others look distraught.

"The baby is fine, James." Logan tells him quietly.

"Well, then what…" He gasps when it seems to dawn on him.

"I can't believe this… I can't believe a doctor is to blame for this. How could they mix up a blood type? That doesn't happen! It's something you learn on like the first day of medical school! And he didn't even seem upset by it either. What is wrong with these people!" Logan yells as he gets angrier by the second. Camille quickly stands up and puts a hand on his arm. He whips his head around and his face softens at her already trembling form. He gathers her in his arms where she starts to sob immediately.

The others sit in silent shock.

"What just happened?" Kendall quietly wonders, while Katie and Mrs. Knight comfort each other as well. He holds a crying Jo in his arms as James does the same with Rachel with tears appearing in his own eyes.

"I just can't believe this…" James mutters quietly. "God… Poor Carlos…"

Just then everyone looks up with wide eyes.

"Carlos…" Kendall utters.

"We have to find him." James says as he quickly gets up. He carefully helps Rachel towards Jo, while Logan leads Camille over to them as well. The women take comfort with each other, while the guys quickly rush away to find their lost friend.

They quickly round the corner they last saw their friend, all calling out his name and keeping their eyes open. They look in every hallway, trying not to bump into rushing doctors and nurses. Then, they find one area where everything is completely silent. Only some faint cries can be heard in the distance from the newborns lying in their cribs, waiting for their parents to take them home.

The guys silently walk through the hallways, when suddenly Logan stops them.

"Guys…" He tells the other two. They stop and look in the direction his head is turned. As they slowly round the corner, they can see legs coming into view. As they walk further, they finally recognize their friend sitting on the floor, with his back against the wall, his knees pulled up, while his eyes just stare into space.

The guys exchange glances and slowly walk over to him. Without saying a word they sit with him, Logan and Kendall on either side and James next to Logan. He doesn't look up, but they know he noticed them.

"We're so sorry, buddy…" Kendall finally utters as he puts an arm around his friend. Carlos doesn't respond to him, he just seems numb all over. Logan also puts an arm around him and James uses the length of his arm to pull everyone together. Carlos closes his eyes and they can feel him lightly starting to tremble.

"This wasn't supposed to happen…" He whispers, his voice slightly breaking. By his harsh breathing, they can tell he's trying to keep his emotions in check. "I was supposed to take them both home, not say goodbye to her…" He voice gives out as a sob rings through. The guys tighten their hold on him, while Kendall pulls his head towards his shoulder. He sobs hard, his shoulders heaving with every sob and intake of his breath.

The guys can't help but let tears fall from their own eyes as they listen to the cries of a broken man, a man whom just lost his partner in life.

"Why did this happen? We were supposed to raise our kids together, grow old together… She wasn't supposed to leave me here all alone… How can I…" He takes a deep breath. "How am I supposed to take care of them all by myself? I can't do that… I just can't… They need her there, too… I… I need her…" He whispers the last part in a tiny voice before letting even harder sobs come out. His body violently shakes in the guy's arms and they try hard to remain strong for him.

"You're not alone, Carlos. You have us and our families and her family and we are all going to help you, okay? You don't have to do this by yourself." Kendall tells him, but it's clear he is losing the battle with his own emotions.

"He's right, 'Los. We're all here for you. Whatever you need…" James adds as he and Logan squeeze Carlos a little tighter for emphasis. Logan just nods in agreement, before laying his head down on Carlos' shoulder. It's something they used to do when they were younger, comforting each other by holding the upset one on the middle and all touching the others.

"I don't want anything else… I just want her…" Carlos answers, his voice hiccupping during sobs.

They sit on the floor for what seems like hours, the only sound being the sobs coming from Carlos and the occasional sniffle from one of the other guys.

"Mr. Garcia?" A young female voice suddenly sounds. The guys look up and find a young nurse staring at them with sympathy and offering a small smile. Carlos sniffles and tries to wipe the tears from his face as he tries to calm down. "I know this is a difficult time for you and I am very sorry for your loss. But uh, your daughter is awake and it would be good for her to see some familiar faces. Would you like to see her?" She asks with a hopeful smile.

Carlos stares at her for a moment and then shakes his head. "No." He nearly whispers. The others look at him in some shock. Even the nurse's smile vanishes as she frowns at him.

"I understand that you are hurting right now, but I think it would be good if she…" She starts, but Carlos interrupts her.

"I said no." He says a little louder.

"But Mr. Garcia, she's your daughter." The nurse tells him in disbelief.

"I just can't do this right now, please just leave me alone!" Carlos yells, making the woman jump in surprise. She gives him one more disappointed look and turns around to leave. As soon as she does, Carlos closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the wall behind them.

His friends stare at him.

"Carlos…" Logan starts.

"Just don't, guys, please… I can't deal with this, not now…" He tells them, taking deep breaths, while his entire body is shaking like a leaf.

Logan sighs. "Look, I know that it might hurt to see her right now. Maybe because she probably looks a lot like her mother…" he quietly starts.

"Stop it…" Carlos pleads in a quiet voice, tears slowly falling down again, while his eyes remain closed.

"Or maybe because you're blaming her for what happened." Logan adds a little louder, while forcing Carlos' head to face him. The raven-haired man opens his eyes and swallows thickly with pain in his eyes. "I understand that, buddy. But she is just a baby. She didn't do anything wrong. She was just brought into this world and right now she needs someone to love her. And that person is you, Carlos. No matter how hard this is, she needs her father." He tries to tell him, looking directly into his friend's eyes. But he shakes his head hard, sniffling.

"I can't…" He utters.

"Carlos, you can't blame her for this…" James starts now.

"Of course I can!" Carlos yells, pulling out of his friend's grasps and standing up shakily. He closes his eyes for a moment and steadies himself on the opposite wall. "If she hadn't been born… None of this would have happened…" He tells them. They look at him shock. "Delilah would still be alive right now if it hadn't been for her…" he adds quietly, while trying to keep sobs inside.

"Carlos, you can't mean that…" Kendall breathes as he also stands up.

"Of course I do! She wouldn't have started to bleed if she hadn't been in breech and…" He stops, trying to compose himself. Kendall quickly walks up to him and grabs his shoulders.

"Hey, come on. Don't do this. She is just a baby. A baby who just lost her mother. She needs you right now, just as much as you need her." He reminds his friend, whose bottom lip quivers and he closes his eyes again.

"Kendall's right, buddy. This wasn't her fault. It's the doctor's fault, I mean, they're the ones who screwed up her blood type…" Logan suddenly blurts out, while Kendall sends him a warning look.

"No, it's not their faults, they did everything they…" Carlos starts, but then he stops. He slowly looks at Logan. "What did you say?"

"They gave her the wrong blood type, that's why she died." Logan tells him and frowns. "Didn't they tell you that?" Carlos looks away and seems lost in thought. He shakes his head absentmindedly.

"The doctor explained to us that she lost a lot of blood and that she needed a blood transfusion, but because they gave her the wrong blood, she didn't make it. It caused for blood poisoning and her body couldn't handle it." Logan explains. Carlos stares in disbelief and shock and has to lean on the wall for support.

"So if they hadn't messed it up, she would still be alive right now?" He asks hesitatingly.

"We don't know that, Carlos, she…"

"If they hadn't messed it up, would she still be alive right now?" Carlos asks again, louder and directing a piercing gaze towards Logan. Logan hesitates and looks at Kendall and James for help. "Logan, please…" he pleads now and Logan sighs.

"I… She probably would have been, yes…" He quietly answers as he hangs his head and avoids Carlos' gaze.

Carlos sighs and closes his eyes.

"I can't believe this." He states, before letting out a little laugh. He shakes his head and opens his eyes. "I can't believe this." He repeats. "She could be alive right now…" He wonders, when another door opens. They all look up.

"Mr. Garcia, I was told you were here. I have some forms we need you to sign. I know this might be very difficult, but you need to sign your wife's death certificate." A younger doctor states as he walks towards the group with forms in his hands. Carlos stares at him.

Kendall suddenly notices how Carlos' fists start to clench. He looks at his friend and sees how his nostrils are flaring. The moment he steps one foot towards the doctor, Kendall puts a hand on his chest. Carlos shoots him a questioning look, but Kendall just shakes his head with pleading eyes. Carlos takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself down.

When the young doctor steps in front of the broken man, he gives a small forced smile. He hands over the forms and they all can't help but notice how his hands are shaking. Carlos gives him a curious look and then takes the forms from him. The doctor wastes no time in turning around and almost running out.

Carlos looks through the forms for a minute.

"Wait a minute!" He suddenly calls out. The doctor stops walking. The guys look at Carlos.

"Logan, read this page for me and see if I'm right to be a little suspicious right now." He mentions as he hands Logan the papers, with one page on top. Logan shrugs when the others give him a questioning look and starts to read through the paper.

In the meantime, Carlos is still staring at the doctor's back and slowly starts to walk his way.

As Logan's eyes scan the paper, his eyes start to grow angry and shocked. He looks up at the end and the other two look at him for an explanation.

"To sum things up: They want him to sign a form that states that the hospital is not responsible for her death in any way." He tells them and throws a look of disbelief towards the young doctor, who still hasn't moved. The other two's eyes also grow.

"What?" they exclaim in unison and turns around in shock.

"Why are you trying to get me to sign this? You don't actually expect me to, do you?" Carlos asks, his voice frighteningly calm as he stands directly behind the now visibly shaking doctor. He suddenly turns around with a very guilty look on his face.

"Look, I am so sorry for all of this. This has never happened to me before. She was my first patient and I was just supposed to deliver the baby. It wasn't supposed to go wrong like this and I just…" he starts to stammer, when Carlos interrupts."

"Hold on. She was your first patient?" He asks in surprise.

The doctor sighs. "Yes and everything was supposed to go perfect, but then the bleeding started and my mentor took over and asked me to get the extra blood and I wasn't prepared for this, so I panicked and I must have taken the wrong bag by accident. I am so sorry, Mr. Garcia, you have no idea how guilty I feel right now…" He blabbers, while Carlos takes it all in.

"And yet you still have the nerve to ask me to sign these forms…" He quietly says back, his voice void of any emotion.

"It wasn't my idea, they just don't want you to sue the hospital over this, when it's my fault…" the doctor mutters. "If there is anything I can do for you, name it, just anything…"

"You actually think there is anything you can do to fix this?" Carlos asks him.

"No, of course not…" the doctor responds.

"Because there is nothing and I mean nothing you can do to get me to forgive you for any of this. Nothing you say or do will make any of this better!" Carlos starts to yell. The anger is starting to become very visible in his eyes as he tries not to lash out completely. "She could have been perfectly fine if you hadn't made that mistake. Anyone can makes mistakes, anyone panics once in a while, but as a doctor, you are not allowed to make mistakes like these. Because mistakes like these can kill people!" The guys can see how his nostrils are flaring up again and it is taking a lot of strength for him not to break down again. "Your 'mistake' killed someone. A woman whom I was in love with for 12 years… We were supposed to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary in three weeks." He says as his voice starts to break. "Three weeks! I loved her, she was everything to me. We had four kids, no, five kids together and now all five of them will have to grow up without their mother, because you panicked!" He screams and the guys finally jump into action.

Kendall and James quickly grab him, but he struggles to get away, trying to lunge at the man.

"It's okay, it's okay…" Kendall tries.

"No, it's not okay! How did you even become a doctor? I'm not a doctor, I'm not even nearly smart enough to become one and even I know what kind of blood types there are and that you're not supposed to mix them all up!" He continues to rant, while Kendall and James try to pull him away, while tears start to spill and sobs are now heard along with the ranting.

"Come on, just stop… He knows…" James quietly tells him.

"He killed her…" Carlos croaks and James pulls him in an embrace.

"I know, I know, don't make this any worse. He knows what he did. I'm sure he already feels bad about it." James tries to soothe, while Carlos sobs once again.

Logan slowly approaches the shaking doctor, who is at a loss of words.

"Here, let the board know he won't be signing this." He tells the younger man, who nods a little and carefully grabs the forms. "I'm guessing they already fired you?"

"Yeah, they're taking away my medical license. I deserve it." He says, keeping his head down.

"just know that the hospital is partially responsible still for all of this. It wasn't even your job to grab the blood bags, so you're not the only one to blame." Logan tells him in all honesty. "I can't stand here and tell you that it's not your fault. But as your first patient, the others should have been looking after you. Don't beat yourself up over this. Maybe this just wasn't for you." He tells the man, giving him a small sympathetic smile.

The man swallows thickly and nods sadly towards Logan, before drooping off and out the door.

Logan turns around and heads back towards his friends. Carlos is still shaking, but has already calmed down a little, while James is still trying to soothe him.

Kendall smiles at him encouragingly for doing the right thing and Logan nods.

"Hey, Carlos? Maybe you want to introduce us to our newest niece, huh? I'm sure everyone would love to meet her." Kendall suggests with a small smile, which then falters. "Speaking of everyone… I'll be right back." He mentions and suddenly runs off.

Carlos looks up from James' chest with puffy eyes, sniffling as he does.

"Where is he going?" He asks Logan.

"Uh, he probably went to tell everyone else we found you. We kind of left them all alone in the waiting area." Logan sheepishly admits.

"Mr. Garcia?" The same female voice from before carefully asks. "I know you don't want to, but your daughter…" She starts, when Carlos stops her.

"I know, she needs me." He says, keeping his head down. He lifts it up and gives her a small smile, while trying to wipe away his tears again. "I'd like to see her." The nurse immediately smiles.

"Oh, well, follow me then." She says excitedly. Carlos tries to smile, but anyone can see he is still broken and exhausted.

After a few minutes, Kendall returns with the women, who are still consoling one and other. They immediately throw themselves into their husband's arms. Mrs. Knight clings to Kendall, while Katie finds comfort with James and Rachel.

"Her parents aren't here, yet?" James quietly asks Kendall as he strokes Rachel and Katie's hair.

"Oh, they're here alright. Her dad is trying very hard to hold back his wife, who nearly clawed the doctor's eyes out when she found out. The doctors are trying everything to keep them from suing. I say they should be glad the Colonel didn't take them out back and executed them." Kendall says with a gulp. James grimaces.

In the meantime, Carlos follows the young nurse as she leads him to the nursery, where all the newborn babies sleep and cry as they wait for their parents. She stops him for a moment, while she walks towards a crib and carefully takes out a crying infant wrapped in a pink blanket. She walks back towards the father with a smile. He takes a deep breath and tries to keep from crying as she hands the baby to him.

He gently holds his daughter in his arms, rocking her slightly when she continues to cry. He closes his eyes for a moment and swallows down the lump in his throat. He recognizes that heart-wrenching cry very well, she knows something is wrong and is crying for her mother.

"She hasn't stopped crying since we put her in here." The young woman informs him while she watches him. He nods as he tries to soothe her.

"It's okay, baby. I've got you, daddy's got you." He whispers as he continues to rock the distressed infant. A lone tear escapes down his cheek as he starts to quietly sing the chorus to Cover Girl to his little girl. The young nurse starts to smile when she notices her crying dying down. He continues to sing, even though his voice croaks a little bit and he sniffles slightly.

When he finally notices she has quieted down, he stops and looks down with a loving gaze.

"Hi there. You're much prettier when you're not crying, you know that? I'm your daddy." He tells the little girl, smiling as he tries to keep his other emotions in check. He stares into her blue eyes and at her button nose and pink lips. "You look just like your mother." He tells her as he gently caresses her head with thick black hair covering it.

"Would you like to feed her?" he almost forgot the young nurse is still in the room with them. He looks at her and nods slowly. She smiles and hands him the bottle she has been preparing. He carefully gives it to his daughter, who happily sucks on it. "I'll just leave you alone with her." The young woman mentions, before starting to leave.

"Thank you for… well, everything, uh…" He starts as he sends her a questioning look.

"Oh, Barbara." She tells him.

"Thank you, Barbara." He says with a genuine smile. She nods.

"It's no problem, Mr. Garcia. She's very beautiful and so was your wife. I am so sorry you lost her. She seemed like a great person." Barbara tells him.

"Yeah, she was." He says absentmindedly and a bit sadly. "And don't call me Mr. Garcia. It makes me feel old. Just call me Carlos." He tells her.

"Alright, Carlos. I'll be back in a few minutes to put her down for her nap." She tells him. He nods and she leaves the room, closing the door behind her to give the bonding father and child some privacy.

He goes to sit down in a lone chair in the room and gently holds his daughter as she drinks her bottle.

"We're going to be okay, aren't we, Lucy? Yeah, we're going to be just fine." He tells her as they sit together in silence.

After some time, he hands his daughter back to Barbara whom kindly and gently places the sleeping baby back in one of the awaiting cribs. The doctors want to do one last check, before he can take her home with him.

Carlos quietly walks back out, ignoring the sad looks everyone gives him from the waiting area. He heads for the large window overlooking all the newborn infants and places a hand on it as he watches his daughter sleeping peacefully.

He can feel someone joining him, but doesn't look up.

"Which one is she?" James whispers to him.

"Third row on the left." He whispers back, his eyes not leaving her.

"She's beautiful." Katie suddenly tells him and he is surprised to feel her arms encircling his waist. He just puts an arm around her as she lays her head on his chest. He just smiles.

"What's her name?" Camille asks as she puts a hand on his arm and gently rubs it affectionately.

"Delilah wanted to name her Lucille, after her grandmother. So, I guess her name is Lucy. Lucy Marina Garcia." He says with a smile. Camille nods and lays her head on his shoulder.

"That's pretty." Jo agrees as she grabs his other arm and lays her head on his other shoulder.

"Isn't Marina your mother's name?" Rachel suddenly asks from behind him. He looks over and holds out his arm. She joins Camille, so that Camille is on his shoulder, while he holds on to both women with his right arm.

"Yeah, it was." He softly tells them and together they watch the sleeping girl.

In any other situation the men might get jealous at seeing their wives clinging to their friend like this. But they know he needs them and they need him.

Suddenly the double doors burst open.

"You!" A deep manly voice bellows. They all turn around and watch as Delilah's father, Colonel Parker marches up to his son in law, keeping his index finger pointing solely to him. "How dare you leave us out of this!" He growls and Carlos shrinks back a little.

"What are you talking about?" He asks quietly with a frown. The women can feel him slightly trembling and hold on tighter.

"Your friends called us because our daughter was giving birth. But while you were in there with her for two hours as she was dying, you never bothered to call us!" He yells, etching closer and closer to the Latino, whom instantly realizes what happened and looks guilty.

"Sir, I didn't mean to…" He stammers, looking down, when the man interrupts.

"Save it! Unbelievable! You got two hours to say goodbye to her and not once did it cross your mind to call us and let us say our goodbyes as well!" He bellows.

"Mr. Parker…" Kendall angrily starts, but Mrs. Knight pulls him away.

"That was our daughter in there. My little girl died today and we didn't have a chance of saying goodbye, because you wanted her all to yourself. I knew there was a reason I didn't like you." The man tells him, before turning around.

"Hey! That is not fair!" Carlos suddenly yells back. The Colonel stops in his tracks and turns back in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" He asks in a warning tone.

"You can't just stand there and accuse me of hogging her. She was dying, she was dying right there in my arms and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it! The moment I stepped into her room, I knew. I could see it in her eyes. She wanted me to lay down with her, so she wouldn't die alone. She was the love of my life and I just watched the life seep right out of her." He says, his bottom lip quivering once again.

"I don't need to hear this." The Colonel says as he turns around again. Carlos pulls out of the women's grasps and stalks towards him. He grabs the man's arm and turns him around. The man looks shocked.

"No, you will hear me out. We were together for twelve years. And for twelve years you have hated me. You hated me the moment she introduced me. And I can understand, because she was your little girl. You didn't want to see her grow up an give her away to someone else. But for twelve years you resented me for that same thing. And all the while I tried everything to please you. I never did anything wrong except love your daughter with all my heart." He says, tears falling freely now and his voice breaking up as he speaks straight from the heart. "She meant everything to me. Don't you dare say I wanted her all to myself. She was dying in my arms, I wasn't exactly thinking of making any phone calls. And I guess I should have. Because it's not fair that I got to say goodbye and you didn't. She loved you, more than you can imagine. She wanted more than anything to see us get along. And trust me, even now, I am not even going to bother, because there's just no chance of that ever happening. But I am truly sorry you didn't get to say goodbye to her. You didn't just lose your daughter today. I lost my wife, the mother of my five children, who are all going to grow up without her. I lost my partner, the person I wanted to grow old with, the one I loved with every part of my being and if there was anything I could do to bring her back to you, I would…" he says, his voice getting soft.

The Colonel stares at him coldly. "You may have loved her and she may have even loved you back. But that does not mean I am going to accept you into our family now. Especially not now. And don't even think that you're going to keep our grandchildren away from us. How are you even going to take care of them, huh? There is five of them. What are you going to do? Just continue making those stupid drawings?" The man accuses and the others are ready to step in, but their wives stop them. It's not between them.

"They are not stupid drawings! I make more than enough to provide for them. And why would I ever try to keep them from you? Just because we don't get along, it doesn't mean they can't see you. You're their grandparents, the only ones they have. I would never come between that." He states.

"Five children is a lot to handle. You two had enough trouble taking care of four together, let alone five by yourself. Face it, you are not mature enough to handle them." Everyone gasps at that. Carlos flinches as though the man physically hurt him.

"I will be fine. I have friends and family to help me…" He quietly argues.

"They won't be there every day. What will you do once they all go back to work, huh? Are you really going to tae care of them by yourself?" The Colonel says, laughing a little even in disbelief. "Don't make me laugh, Garcia. I suggest you just hand them off into our care now and be done with it. You can go back to singing and dancing in that silly boyband of yours and have fun. We'll make sure these kids turn out right." Carlos trembles when the man finishes.

"Don't you dare… Don't you dare take them from me! They are all I have left!" he screams, tears streaming down his face.

"This isn't about you, it's about what's best for them. And let's face it, you're not exactly someone you would want to become a single parent." Kendall and James quickly grab Carlos, before he can lunge at the man. The man just shakes his head, seeing this as evidence for being right all along.

"Let me go! He can't talk like that, he can't take them from me!" Carlos continues to scream, while his friends keep a tight grip on him.

"Daddy!" An excited yell suddenly shines through, making everyone stop what they're doing. Carlos is stunned into silence when his eldest daughter comes running up and latches herself around his waist. She is still a daddy's girl, even at the age of 8 she loves being affectionate with him. His twins are quick to follow, holding on to his legs, while the youngest one is being held by the babysitter, Madison, whom looks very worried as she sees him.

"My god, I came as soon as I heard." She tells the man, who is absolutely confused and horrified as his children happily hug him. "Are you okay? Oh, what would I even ask that? Of course you're not okay. I am so sorry about this." She rambles and he stares at her with his mouth hanging open.

"How did you even hear about this?" He asks when he finally finds his voice.

"Well, their grandmother called me. She figured no one called me, so she called me herself." Carlos looks up in shock when Delilah's mother walks in. Her face is red and puffy, also from crying, he imagines.

"I thought they had a right to know, don't you?" She says harshly, in an accusing tone. So she blames him as well.

"Daddy, where's the new baby? Can we see her?" Shay questions him excitedly, and he understands that no one has told them. He quickly wipes away his tears and smiles at her.

"Uh, she's right over there, by that great big window. Why don't you go over there, you're aunts and uncles will show you which one is your baby sister." He tells them and the children quickly bound over to the window. Even little Noah is let go by Madison and he runs over towards Kendall, who scoops him up. Carlos watches for a moment as all his kids are being held up to the window where they make funny faces at the babies.

Then he turns back towards Madison and his mother-in-law.

"Why did you bring them here?" He questions painfully.

"They need to know, Carlos. Don't you think they deserve that? It's not just my husband and I who didn't get to say goodbye." His eyes widen when he realizes the woman is right. He turns back towards his children for a moment. "I know you loved her, but so did they. There will never be a right time to tell them, honey. You need to get it over with." She tells him and places a hand on his hand, squeezing it affectionately.

Carlos always was glad at least one of her parents liked him, or was it just tolerance because her daughter was in love with him? Whatever it is, he is grateful for it right now. He sighs and nods.

He slowly walks towards his kids, who are giggling with their faces pressed up against the glass.

"She looks just like mommy and me!" Molly pipes up and Shay scowls.

"Well, she has mine and daddy's nose, right, daddy?" She asks and Carlos smiles lightly.

"When can we see mommy?" Michael suddenly asks and it's as if the world stops moving. Carlos struggles for words and the children notice right away. "Dad?" The boy asks with a small frown.

"Uh, guys… would you give us a minute?" he then suggests. The others exchange worried glances.

"A-are you sure? I mean, maybe we should…" Kendall starts, but Carlos shakes his head.

"No, I uh… I have to do this." He says, hanging his head as he prepares for what he is about to do. Kendall nods and walks away, when Carlos puts a hand on his arm. "Thanks, though… For you know, offering." He says. Kendall nods and then pulls him into an unexpecting hug. Carlos leans into it for a moment, before pulling away.

As everyone walks out to give them some privacy, Carlos takes another deep breath. His children watch everyone leaving with confused eyes.

"Daddy, what's going on?" Shay asks him. He walks towards some chairs.

"Come here for a minute. I need to talk to you about something." He says as he pats his knees. Molly quickly crawls onto his lap, while Shay sits beside him. He pulls Noah onto his other knee, while Michael sits next to him on the other side. "Do you remember how I told you about your other grandmother and father? My mom and dad?"

"Yeah, you said they are up there now, with the angels, watching over us." Shay remembers. He nods.

"That's right and they will always be with us, you know that, right?" He asks them, his voice laced with emotion.

Shay and Molly nod, while Michael still looks confused.

"Guys, uh…" He starts, his voice shaking. "Your mom, you know she loves you, right? And she would never do anything to hurt you. When she was having the baby, things didn't go the way it was planned and she…" He has to stop for a moment and gather his emotions.

"Mommy's with the angels, too, isn't she?" Shay suddenly asks him. He looks up in surprise and can't do anything but nod.

"She wanted to you to know that she loves you all so much. She tried to fight, but she couldn't hang on." He tells them softly. Shay leans into him sadly, while Molly grabs hold of him and buries her head in his shoulder, already wailing. Noah still doesn't fully understand, but he does look sad. Carlos tries to keep it together and looks towards his eldest son, who sits motionless.

"Mikey?" He affectionately calls him, but his son doesn't respond. He holds out a hand and places it on his shoulder. "Michael?" he calls again. His son finally look sup, his eyes glistening with tears. "Oh, buddy…"

"It's not true." He speaks out, bottom lip trembling.

"Mikey…" Carlos starts.

"No…" His son responds, shaking his head and standing up. "No, you're lying. Mommy isn't dead, she would never leave us!" he cries out. It breaks Carlos' heart.

"Mike, I'm sorry…"

"No, I want her, I want mommy, where is she?" he cries out, tears freely falling down.

"She's gone, buddy…" He softly tries.

"No, no, she can't be…"

"Come here…" He pleads with the boy, but he refuses and shakes his head harder.

"No, I don't want you, you lie… Liar! I want mommy, I want mommy!" He screams, before running off. Carlos swallows thickly and breathes heavily. He clenches his eyes shut as he holds his crying daughters close and tries not to fall apart.

"Daddy?" Shay quietly calls out. He opens his eyes and casts his eyes down to her. "It's okay. You can let go now." He frowns a little at her. "It's okay to cry. You loved mommy, too." She tells him and it takes every ounce of him not to break down on the spot. "And she loves you too, daddy." His eyes widen. "She said so and she says it's okay to cry. Everything is going to be okay. She says you can do this and I agree. You're a really good daddy and I can help with the little ones. And mommy will help whenever she can, too." The little girl tells him as if it's the most natural thing in the world. As if her mother is right there.

"Oh god…" He chokes as sobs fight their way through. He watches as Molly suddenly glances up and nods, while no one has said a word. And Noah giggles and reaches out to something he can't see. The young father watches them in shock and disbelief. This can't be real…

"Can't you see her, daddy? She's right there, next to you." Shay tells him. He lets out another choked sob and then he feels it. His body tenses as he feels a cold breeze washing over him. A sense of peace and love comes with it. He closes his eyes when it caresses his face. He trembles violently when he feels something cold touching his lips.

"I will always be with you…" Her voice whispers hauntingly in his ears. "I love you…" And then she's gone.

He can't help but let out one last choked sob, before breaking into a million pieces. He can hardly take a breath in between sobs, as his children look frightened. Shay holds on to her father tightly, while his body wracks with every sob.

"Carlos, is everything okay? We saw Michael running out and…" Kendall's voice sounds, when he gasps. "Oh my god…" He stares at the hysterically crying man on the hospital chairs, while his children look very worried and upset. "Guys…" He quickly calls out. His friends anxiously round the corner and their eyes grow wide. "Could you get the kids?" He softly asks them. They slowly nod, keeping their eyes on their hysterically wailing friend.

"Hey Noah." James says with a smile as he kneels towards the little boy, who still looks more confused than anything at Carlos' ongoing tears. "You want to go see your aunties?" He asks and the boy looks unsure. James carefully grabs him off of his friend's lap anyway, while Logan does the same with Molly and asks Shay to go along with him.

Kendall rushes over and takes Shay's place. He pulls his friend against him and immediately, he latches on to Kendall's body, who just holds on tighter, letting him know he's there for him.

"What happened?" Logan wonders out loud as he watches the emotional wreck that is left of his friend. Shay shrugs a little.

"He started to get upset after mommy came to say goodbye." She answers as if it's the most natural thing in the world. James and Logan' eyes nearly bug out as they exchange glances.

"Wait, what did you say?" James asks, his voice whisper like, hoping she didn't just say that.

"Yeah, mommy came to say goodbye to us. She kissed daddy and told him she loved him and then she had to go." She explains simply. Molly nods in agreement. "That's when daddy started to cry. He really misses her."

James and Logan slowly nod. "Uh, why don't we go see how Michael is doing?" Logan suggests and he leads the children out of the hallway and a flabbergasted James with them.

The moment they meet back up with everyone, they look surprised to see them with the children and without Kendall or Carlos.

"What happened?" Jo asks right away.

"Carlos broke down. It's worse than before." James tells them when he regains his senses.

"Oh my god…" Mrs. Knight says as she shakes her head. "I'll go see if I can help. I think he could use a mother figure right now." She announces before standing up and leaving.

"You see this? This is exactly what I am talking about. First Michael runs out here by himself and now they had to take the other kids away because he broke down? How can we expect him to handle taking care of five kids by himself? He is not stable, Sarah. I say we start taking care of these children, they will be much better off." The Colonel is heard saying in the distance.

"Gerald, don't." His wife tells him, while she covers Michael's ears, who lays sleeping on her lap.

"I am serious, Sarah. He acts like a kid. These kids need a stable home and they are not going to get it from some immature grown-up who draws pictures for a living." He insists.

"Gerald, stop!" She suddenly yells and even Michaels stirs and starts to wake up. The Colonel looks surprised. "Now I have listened to you whine about him for years now. I know you don't like him, but whether you like it or not, he is part of this family. Delilah loved him and so he is our son now. He just lost his wife, Gerald! We are not going to take away his children as well. He is the father of these children and while he may not always act his age, he always takes good care of them. He needs them and they need him."

"But he…"

"I don't want to hear another word about this! He is our son-in-law and it's about time you accept him like I've accepted him. Now we are going to help him, until he can handle things on his own. I don't care how you feel about it, you will do as I say. Because there is one thing you both have in common, both of you have trouble acting your age!" The woman yells and the Colonel shuts his mouth. She throws the others an apologetic smile, but they just look amazed at her how she finally stood up to him about the subject after all this time.

"I bet Michael would rather stay with us than with his dad, right, Mike?" The Colonel asks the boy, who is sitting up in confusion. He innocently shakes his head. His grandmother smiles at him.

"No, you love your daddy, don't you?" She asks dotingly as she runs her fingers through his hair. The boy nods with his tear stricken face and she smiles even wider. "Of course you do. And you know that he loves you just as much, maybe even more." A small smile appears on his face and he buries his face in the crook of her neck shyly. She holds him close, kissing his forehead.

In the other room, Carlos tightly clings to his other mother as she soothes him by rubbing his back. His crying is slowly subduing as she comforts him.

When he is finally calm again, he pulls back. Kendall is right there with water, which he gratefully takes.

"Oh my god… I must look like such a mess right now." He tells them with a small laugh as he wipes his face. They just smile at him. "Thanks, Kendall, Mama Knight. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me." He tells them.

"Don't apologize. You have every reason to get emotional right now. I'd rather you let it all out right now than bottle it up for months." Mrs. Knight tells him.

"But I did completely break down in front of the kids. I probably scared them half to death." He adds, looking at his hands.

"No, you didn't." Kendall tells him in all honesty. "They understand, buddy. Everyone does. Especially if what Shay said really happened." Carlos frowns. "About someone coming to say goodbye." His eyes widen and then he quickly looks away.

"I'm not even sure if that really happened. But it sure did feel real. I felt her lips touching mine. And then she told me she would always be with me and that she loved me and I guess that was the last straw. It just sent me completely over the edge." He sighs and leans his head back to rest against the wall. "God, I feel so exhausted. I've never cried this much in my entire life." He says with a small chuckle.

Mrs. Knight just hugs him one last time and kisses his forehead. "Just know that we're all here for you, okay, sweetie? It's going to be okay." She tells him. He gulps, but smiles gratefully towards her.

After two days of running some tests, the doctors have cleared baby Lucy as completely healthy and have sent her home. This is how Carlos finds himself standing in front of his house with all five of his children, staring at it from the driveway. His friends asked him if he needed help, but he told them no. It's now or never and he needs to do this. Even her parents offered to come stay with them for the first few days. But he knows if he doesn't do this now, he might never be able to do it.

They stare at the house as if they haven't been there for years. No one makes a movement. It's as if they all feel the same fear to step inside. Because the moment they do, they know they'll be hit with years of memories, smells, pictures. None of them know if they are ready to handle that.

He takes a deep breath. "Okay, guys, come on. Let's go home." He tells them softly, holding the baby in his arms. He doesn't make a move though and neither do his kids.

"You didn't move." Shay tells him, while her younger siblings hold on to her hands.

"Neither did you." Her father replies. He is already grateful for her taking up the role of big sister this quickly.

She sighs. "Come on." She says as she starts to walk, her younger sister and youngest brother in tow. Michael stays behind, biting his lip anxiously as he watches his siblings walk up to the house.

Carlos watches as well and smiles proudly. As he watches her, he can feel the energy building to do the same.

"Yeah, we can do this." He says to no one in particular. He is about to step forward when a hand suddenly slips in his. He looks down and sees Michael shyly gripping his dad's hand without looking at him. He smiles, but doesn't say anything.

They follow Shay and together they enter the house. Their smiles are wiped off completely when they step one foot inside. The silence is unbearable, while the smells hit them from all directions. The furniture she picked out, the places she used to sit, laugh, talk to them, play with them…

No one wants to stay in one room for long. They all feel tired and head to bed. After Carlos places his newborn daughter in her brand new nursery, he slowly heads down the hall. He stops in front of their door. Can he really do this? Can he really sleep in the same room where she used to sleep with him? In the same bed? With her clothes and perfume lingering in the air…

He tries to coax himself into it, he can do this. They already stepped foot inside the house, this is just another step. He slowly opens the door and is hit by her scent. He takes it all in and steps further into the room, his body trembling as he does. He nearly runs over towards the bed, trying to ignore all the small things that remind him even more of her and just climbs into bed. He draws the covers over himself, but then mistakenly turns around to come face to face with her side of the bed. He immediately turns around again and sees the picture of their wedding day, mocking him on his own nightstand.

He lies on his back is hardly surprised to suddenly hear someone shuffling into the room and slowly climbing onto the bed as well. Molly quickly grabs hold of him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" He can feel her shaking her head. Just then, the second pair of feet shuffles in. Carlos lifts his head a little and finds his eldest daughter at the edge of the bed, with silent tears streaming down her face. "Oh, honey…" he breathes out and holds out his arms. She cries and immediately jumps on him. He brushes over her hair with his hand.

"She bought me a new dress… It was hanging on my closet door…" She cries. He sighs in understanding.

"Daddy?" A small voice sounds from the doorway. He lifts his head again and is a little surprised to find Michael standing there. The boy has always been a momma's boy. Even when he was little, he refused to call him daddy. It was always just 'dad'. He never understood, but there was some sort of distance between them. For his son to suddenly call him daddy, it should feel a lot better than this. "I don't want to sleep in my room… Can I… can I sleep with you?" He asks so shyly, Carlos would have laughed if the situation weren't so horrible.

"Of course you can, buddy. Come on…" he says as he holds his arms out once again. His girls move over to make room for their brother. They all lay there, just staring at the ceiling, no one saying a word and no one able to fall asleep either.

Carlos sighs. "We're not ready for this, are we?" He asks. He can feel his children agreeing by the shaking of their heads. He sighs in defeat.

This is how an hour later, a doorbell rings at a house across the street.

When James opens his door, he is a little surprised to find his friend standing there with some bags and all five children.

"I'm sorry I turned you down before. We can't do this yet… I can't do this yet… We can't stay in that house…" The broken and defeated man tells him. He smiles in understanding and opens his door. His friend smiles at him gratefully.

As the door to the Diamond residence closes, one thing is for certain. They will be okay. With the help of their friends and family, the Garcia's will be fine.

**A/N I don't think I've ever written a one-shot this long before. It cost me enough time, anyway ;)**

**This is an idea that has been haunting me for a while now and I am so grateful it is finally on paper and out of my system. I struggled to write it, but I hope you like it anyway. **

**Sorry if the ending seems a bit rushed. But I don't want to turn this into a full-fledged story. This is meant as a one-shot and it will stay that way. I first considered placing this as a chapter in one of my future-fics, but decided that it is too tragic for either one.**

**Thanks for the reviews on my previous stories. A lot is starting to happen lately in my life, so I'm sorry for not replying to messages or reviewing other stories as much this week. I'll try to get back on that asap. But until then, I hope you'll let me know what you think. I don't mind constructive criticism, in fact, I applaud it, because it makes us better writers. So if you have any feedback on this or any of my other stories, let me know **

**My writer's block is starting to clear up at the moment, so I might be finishing a new chapter of TA soon Hope you enjoy that. And otherwise, if you are bored, check out my YouTube page and take a look at my first edit, featuring: Carlos Garcia (who else) as The Candyman ;)**

**Love all of you,**

**Baxxie**


	6. Charmed: Part 3

Chapter 3 Mending the garden

After they orb back to the manor, the guys excitedly gush over Kendall's new power. Well, Kendall and James do. Logan is still passed out in his sleeping bag now, while Carlos sits on the couch with a dejected look.

Wyatt has calmed down completely ever since Carlos was rescued, surprising everyone.

"How did Wyatt know what was going on?" Prue asks Piper, while Phoebe offers Carlos a blanket and some hot cocoa.

"I guess they have formed some sort of bond over the last… two days." Piper says with a frown. "It's the same reason why he put that protective shield over him yesterday. I can't explain it, but maybe it's also why the Elders picked him for these powers." Prue thinks about it for a moment.

"Yeah, must be. I wonder why we haven't seen his powers emerge yet." She wonders as she watches the boy stare into his mug of cocoa with a sad look.

Phoebe sits next to him for a moment and looks at the taller boys gushing and showing off their powers.

"Don't pay attention to them. I mean, I watched my sisters use their active powers while I didn't have one for years." She says with a small smile. He looks up at her in disbelief. Her smile falls away. "Sorry. But, look. You won't have to wait years like I did. Because you do realize what this means, right?" She asks and Carlos looks up.

"No, what?" He asks quietly.

"Since Kendall got lightening speed as his power, that means that you will get the special powers." She whispers into his ear with a smile and a wink, before getting up. He looks at her in slight shock and realization. A smile appears on the young face.

"Hey Carlos! Check this out; mirror, here!" James calls out and holds out his hand. He cheers when his mirror appears in his hand. "Look at this! Isn't this cool?" He asks and Carlos smiles.

"Yeah, it is." He says quietly. The Halliwell's look at the guys have fun together, while Logan sleeps away in his sleeping bag.

"Guys, why don't you save it for tomorrow, huh? It's kinda late and we like our sleep." Prue offers as the guys nod apologetically. They get into their sleeping bags and excitedly keep on talking.

"Did you see how fast I went when I pushed you out of the way?" Kendall gushes, making Carlos chuckle.

"No, I was a little busy crossing the freeway apparently." He answers sarcastically, but with a chuckle.

The three women head upstairs, where Leo has already put a calm and happy Wyatt to bed.

After about an hour, when everyone is sleeping soundly, Wyatt sits up in his crib. He babbles a little and holds his stuffed elephant tightly while suddenly orbing it away. No one notices when the blue elephant ends up downstairs in the arms of a restlessly sleeping Latino. The moment the object is enclosed in his arms, he calms down and tightens his arms around it, a small smile appearing on his face.

The next morning, Carlos is confused when he sees the stuffed animal in his arms.

"Hey, nice elephant, dude." James jokes as he sits up in his sleeping bag. Carlos glares at him and throws a pillow at his head.

"Hey, hey, what's with the pillows so early in the morning?" Logan groggily says as he sits up and pulls the pillow away as it landed on his face.

"Whoops, sorry, Logan." Carlos says with a slight chuckle at his hair sticking up in all directions.

"Ugh, my head feels so weird… What happened last night?" Logan asks as he rubs his head.

"Uh, Kendall used his lightening speed to save Carlos' life." James reminds him with a smile, while Carlos looks down in embarrassment.

"Oh, right." Logan says with a nervous laugh. "How could I forget that?" He winces suddenly and puts his hands over his ears.

"The voices are getting louder, huh?" Carlos asks sympathetically. Logan just nods with gritted teeth.

"There's so many of them…" He says quietly in a pained voice.

Just then they hear a mumble coming from Kendall's sleeping bag. They look over and jump a little as he suddenly shoots up into an upright position.

"Hey, guys, what's going on? What's for breakfast? Boy, I had a good night's sleep, didn't you?" He rattles off in an impossible speed, making the guys tilt their heads in confusion.

"Huh?" they ask with raised eyebrows in unison.

The moment Kendall races past Phoebe towards the kitchen as she comes into the living room, has her looking surprised.

"Uh, I guess we have some training to do today." She tells the other guys, who nod in a daze, still looking at the spot Kendall left in.

"Oh, there's Wyatt's blue elephant." Piper says as she walks in as well. She smiles as she picks it up next to Carlos' sleeping bag. "What is it doing down here?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. It was here when I woke up." Carlos says with a shrug as he also gets up and follows his friends into the kitchen. Piper frowns and stares at the elephant in her hands thoughtfully.

Two hours later, everyone is dressed again and ready for the day. Prue has left for work, while Piper and Leo train Kendall, James and Logan in the basement. Carlos sits in the living room with Phoebe and Wyatt. Phoebe writes away on her laptop, while Wyatt and Carlos sit on the floor and play together. She glances over the screen every once in a while and smiles at the interaction between the two.

She glances around the rest of the room and then notices all the potted plants looking a little different. She tilts her head in confusion for a moment. Then she chuckles and shakes her head. She goes back to typing, but then stops and looks up again.

"I'm just imagining things." She whispers to herself as she stares at one of the plants that seems greener than before, while the one next to it seems to have grown. But as she stares again, she suddenly closes her laptop. "But that flower was definitely not there this morning…" She says as she puts her laptop aside and stands up. She quickly glances up to see if Carlos and Wyatt are still occupied and sneaks off to inspect the plants.

The closer she gets, the more she feels as though maybe she's not imagining it. She can hear Wyatt giggling in the background and Carlos laughing right along with him. She smiles and looks in their direction. The minute she looks back, she gasps and her eyes widen. The potted plant she is looking at is growing right in front of her.

"Uh, Piper, Leo?" She yells in a loud voice, hoping they'll hear her. Sure enough, they come flying up the stairs, well, not as fast as Kendall of course. They stand right beside her with wide eyes.

"What, what happened? Is Wyatt okay?" Piper asks in a panic, but she sighs in relief as she hears Wyatt giggling again.

"Yes, he's fine. Everything is fine. Well, not completely fine." Phoebe rattles, until Piper stops her.

"Phoebe." Phoebe looks at her and closes her mouth. "What is going on?"

"Did anyone cast a plant growing spell recently?" She asks sheepishly.

"A what?" Leo questions in confusion. They turn their heads as they hear Carlos laughing out loud.

"Just look!" She says as she watches one of the plants starting to grow once again.

"What the…" Piper starts as she walks closer towards the growing leaves. "Leo, what is going on? Guys, did you cast a spell?" She asks the three guys watching the plants with fascination. They only shake their heads slowly in unison.

The plant stops growing for a moment.

"This is just impossible. I mean, I know plants grow, but we're not supposed to see it up close." Logan suddenly muses as he studies one of the plants. Another giggle from Carlos is heard from the opposite side of the room. "Plants can grow pretty fast sometimes though, but…"

"Uh, Logan?" James asks, interrupting him. "Can flowers suddenly grow from out of nowhere?" He points forward and Logan follows his gaze.

Everyone stares at the white flower that starts to grow on one of the plants. Phoebe throws a suspicious look towards the growing flower and then directs her eyes Carlos and Wyatt's way.

"Uh, guys?" She asks, while the others start to come up with possible explanations. "Guys!" she calls out and they all look at her. "Do you think maybe this has something to do with someone's still developing powers?" She asks and points towards the two playing happily on the floor.

"You think Wyatt is doing this?" Piper asks as she looks at her giggling son.

"Actually, I think it might be Carlos." Phoebe says. They furrow their eyebrows together. "Didn't the book say the powers come out with his emotions? Earth with happiness?" She reminds them. Piper stares at the boy in realization and Leo smiles. The guys just look confused.

"Wait, are you saying that Carlos is making these plants grow?" Logan asks as he filters through the information.

"Those are the special powers? He can make plants grow?" James asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it's not just the plants. Carlos has gotten the power of the four elements. They come out with his emotions and the first one now is earth, which comes out with happiness." Leo explains. James nods in understanding, as does Kendall. But then they both shake their heads.

"I don't get it." They say in unison. Logan rolls his eyes.

"They mean that Carlos can control all four elements. You know, earth, wind, fire and water? And they come out with certain emotions. When he's happy he can control earth and make plants grow for example." He explains as simply as he can. Both guys finally nod in understanding.

"We should tell Carlos." James says, excitement growing on his face.

About ten minutes later everyone is sitting in the living room with amused faces. They all stare at Carlos, who holds a small potted cactus in his hands with the happiest smile they have ever seen. His eyes are twinkling as he looks at the flowers growing in amazement.

"This is so cool…" He says.

"So, what will happen with the other elements?" Logan asks the other witches.

"Uh, I think we'll just have to wait for them to emerge. You see, the Elders want to find out if he is capable of handling them. And knowing what to expect in advance, he'll have an unfair advantage. He needs to figure it out for himself." Leo explains.

They all look at Carlos again who now holds Wyatt in his lap. The blond boy claps his hands when another flower grows on the cactus.

"Yeah, we're going to have to train him though…" Piper says worryingly. The others follow her gaze and their eyes widen at the jungle site of the enormously growing plants behind him.

**A/N Wow, it's difficult to write these days… I don't know what's going on. I guess I've just been thinking a lot and am just so confused…. I'm just dealing with some stuff, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear about that..**

**I just hope you like this chapter Thanks for your support and hopefully you're enjoying my stories as much as I like writing them **

**Until next time!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	7. Life flashes before you

**A/N Ok, I have posted this one before, but I am deleting one of my stories and thought this one-shot fit in perfectly with this collection. Hope you enjoy and remember; if you have any Carlos angst/drama/tragedy/fluffy/bromance one-shot ideas, let me know ;)**

Life flashes before you…

I never thought I'd end up like this. When my time was up, I had always imagined it would happen when I tried to jump into the Palm Woods pool from the roof again. I still don't know how I got out of that one without so much as a scratch.

You know how people say your life flashes before your eyes just before you die? I've had those moments, a lot of times. But I never even came close to dying. Well, except for that hockey game in which Butch Forrester decked me into the boards so hard I now have a metal plate in my head. But I don't remember what happened that day. Or the week following it.

But this, this is different. Lying here on the ground, cold and wet while raindrops continue to wash my blood onto the ground. I want to move, but my chest feels like its on fire and I can feel the life seeping out of my body.

I just stare up at the sky. Everything seems so different now. Just lying here I can see things in another perspective. I just wish I could be counting stars right now instead of blinking away the drops of water that keep falling into my eyes. I can hear the sound of cars passing by in the distance. A cat screeching, a child crying.

Nothing makes sense right now. I can't think straight. How did I even get here? My head starts to pound as I try to remember the events from before. But I cringe as it slowly comes back to me…

_Flashback_

_I was walking through the Palm Woods park, just enjoying my latest corndog. I wore my helmet and held a big grin on my face. This day could not get any better. _

_It had started with singing and dance practice this morning. I sang my heart out and had so much fun doing it. I put the rest of my energy in my dancing and it all paid off. Gustavo yelled at the other guys for falling on their butts again. But when he looked at me, he couldn't think of one thing to yell about. All I got was; "uh. Good job, dog." _

_He muttered it with so much distaste, but I couldn't be happier. _

_Then we headed for school, where Ms. Collins handed back our English assignments. We had to write an essay on our favorite person in the world. I wrote about Batman. Hey, she never said the person had to be real. But anyways, I wrote from my heart. _

_I was hoping for at least a C+ this time. I was keeping my fingers crossed when she handed out the reports. I watched James as his face fell. A D-… He had to rewrite it. I thought he would have nailed it, since he wrote it about himself._

_Kendall was next. He actually wrote about Jo. Talk about barf… But apparently he wrote so much about how much he loved the blond haired girl, there wasn't any substance. So Ms. Collins gave him an F and a week to do it over. I heard him groan and a thud followed as he dropped his head onto his desk._

_I was getting impatient when she reached Logan. I mean, did she seriously have to give it back to him? We all know he always gets straight A's. So as she gave it to him, I rolled my eyes, eagerly waiting for my own report. _

_But that subsided when I saw Logan's eyes widen and his face turn even paler than I thought was possible as he saw his grade. I frowned at this and tried to look over his shoulder to see what he got. My own eyes widened when I saw the circled mark in red ink; a C+? How did that happen? I tried to read that report about Albert Enstein and after the first two sentences I was so confused my head was spinning. It had to be good, Logan was smart._

_I was looking at my friend with so much concern, I hardly even registered my own report landing on my desk. James took it away with a gasp._

"_Dude, no way!" I heard him next to me as he looked over my report. Kendall quickly took it away as I still stared at Logan._

"_What? An A? You wrote your paper on Batman, who's not even a real person and she gave you an A?" he exclaimed and I slowly turned my head away from my smart friend for a moment._

"_Wait, what?" I exclaimed and yanked the paper from Kendall's hands. The whole class was staring at me like I was crazy as I stared at my own circled mark. An A. I had never gotten an A in my life. Those grades were meant for Logan, the smart one in our group. Not me. _

_The rest of the day kind of flew by for me. People congratulated me, clapped me on the back. I had never received such encouragement before. _

_I felt better about myself that day than any other day. Stephanie even bought me a corndog, which I was eating now, in the park. She kissed my cheek and gave me a corndog. I always did have a small crush on her. So after that moment, things couldn't get any better._

_I whistled a happy tune as I walked back to the apartment. That's when I realized the guys weren't walking beside me anymore. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen them anymore since we left school._

_I happily opened the door of 2J and shouted a loud 'Hi' to everyone inside. I didn't really expect for the guys to only give me a glare from the orange couch and look away again._

_I frowned and was about to ask them what was going on, when mama Knight walked up to me._

"_Hi, sweetie. Honey, I heard about your A in English. Good job!" She said with a huge smile and hugged me, before kissing my cheek. She looked so proud and I couldn't help but blush of embarrassment._

"_Great job, big bro!" Katie's voice sounded next to me as she pulled me into a big hug as well._

"_This essay is going right on the fridge." Mama Knight announced as she hung the essay on top of the fridge. My heart swelled at that._

"_You don't have to do that, mama Knight. I'll just put it in my room." I told her, not really wanting this much attention for some reason._

"_Nonsense. I am really proud of you, Carlos. And to show just how proud, tonight we are having fish sticks and tater tots."_

"_But it's not even Friday." I exclaimed. She just smiled._

"_Jep!" I cheered and she chuckled slightly. "So Katie and me are going to head over to Ms. Wicher down the hall to get some extra ingredients. We'll be right back." I watched them leave before heading over towards the orange couch._

"'_Sup, guys." I told them with a grin as I plopped down beside Kendall. I frowned a little when they didn't even look my way. "Guys? Hellooooo?" I waved my hand around in front of Kendall's face playfully with a mischievous grin._

_But that grin quickly faded when Kendall grabbed my wrist and pushed my hand away. All the while shooting a glare my way. _

"_Are you guys mad at me or something?" I asked in confusion. Again they ignored me. "Guys, come on. Why are you acting like this?"_

_All I heard was a frustrated sigh and then Kendall turning towards me._

"_You want to know why we're acting like this? How about, because you're a selfish jerk." Kendall explained and I backed up a little._

"_Whoa, what? What are you talking about?" I asked, really not understanding what I could have done to have Kendall be so angry._

_I heard James huff at the other end of the couch. "What, James? What is it?"_

"_You don't know what we're talking about?" He asked and I shook my head. He turned towards me and I could feel myself backing up a little at the angry look in his eyes. "Okay, how about this morning for example. The way you acted during practice."_

"_What about it?" I asked again, feeling clueless._

"_Normally when we have practice Gustavo is yelling at you for falling, goofing off, acting like a clown. And today all of a sudden you show off to Gustavo, acting all amazing, making us look bad!" _

"_Wait, what? I made you look bad?" I asked them in total shock. _

"_Yeah, you did. Since when do you suddenly know how to dance and sing better than us, huh? How did you suddenly learn how to sing?" James asked and I can't pretend that comment didn't hurt._

"_But honestly, that was nothing compared to what you did to Logan in class today." Kendall suddenly added. I looked up, but found him not even looking at me. He just looked angry, disappointed as he shook his head. "That was just low, Carlos."_

_I frowned again, trying to get my head around all of this. "What exactly did I do to Logan?" Kendall and James opened their mouths in shock, gasping incredulously that I didn't even know what they were talking about._

"_Look at him!" Kendall exclaimed and I peered around his shoulder. There was Logan, cooped up between Kendall and James, completely silent. His eyes just stared off into space in front of him. But looking closer, I could tell his eyes were red and puffy. Like he had been…_

"_Have you been crying?" I asked with slight shock and concern mixed into one._

"_It doesn't matter if he has or hasn't, Carlos. God, you are unbelievable. How could you do this? You know how important grades are to Logan." Kendall told me and it slowly started to dawn on me._

"_Wait a minute. You're mad because I got a higher grade on that essay than Logan did?" I exclaimed with narrowed eyes._

"_Of course that's the reason we're mad. All these years you have never cared once about doing your homework or getting good grades. While Logan has worked his butt off to get straight A's, while trying to keep you in school at the same time. And you pull this?" Kendall stood up now as he angrily told me what was going on. "Do you have any idea how much work he put into that essay? Do you?"_

"_I…" was all I could get out. I was too stunned to speak. My friends were mad at me because of one good grade._

"_No, of course you don't. Because you don't care, do you? You've never cared about your grades or your future. All you have planned is becoming a superhero, like your favorite person in the whole world, Batman." Kendall said in a mocking tone. "You probably wrote this essay in an hour or something, just before class started."_

"_I did not write that before class started. When would I have had the time for that? You guys were there the whole time." I exclaimed, now also standing up as our voice started to rise._

"_Whatever. The point it, Logan worked his butt off on that essay, while you just goofed off. You didn't even take the assignment seriously. Writing about Batman. Who does that?" I blinked for a moment._

"_You wrote about Jo and James wrote about himself!" I exclaimed, pointing at James, whose eyes widened and he got up, too._

"_Hey! I worked hard on that essay!" he told me while pointing a finger at me._

_I stared at my friends in bewilderment. _

"_Look, I don't know what is going on here. But couldn't you at least be happy for me? I got an A on a project. I have never gotten an A before. And I did it all myself!" I told them._

"_Happy? We should be happy for you?" A new voice ads to the mix and I gulp at the coldness in it. I watch as Logan slowly stands up. "I worked on that essay for three weeks, Carlos. Three weeks! I put all my effort into it, going for another A. You work on your paper for what, five minutes and you get an A anyway, while I get a C+!" he shouts at me. "How is that possible? What the hell could you have possibly written to get an A and for me to get a C+? You wrote about Batman!"_

"_Look, I'm sorry for getting a higher grade than you. But what am I supposed to do about it? Ms. Collins is the teacher and I guess she thought mine was better than yours." I told him in honesty. What was I supposed to say?_

"_Yours better than mine?" He started to laugh while I frowned. "No." he shook his head. "There is no way your paper was better than mine, Carlos. I mean, come on. You're not exactly the sharpest tool in the toolbox and again; you wrote about BATMAN!"_

"_I am sorry, alright? But maybe I am not as stupid as you think I am. Maybe I am actually smart and I actually wanted to put some effort into this. Did you ever think of that?" I yelled back at him. _

_Logan just narrowed his eyes and shook his head._

"_All these years I tried to help you improve your grades and now you're telling me you were just too lazy to get good grades by yourself? Wow. That is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard!" he shouted into my face._

_Okay, that really hurt. "And since when are you smart, Carlos? Last week I tried to explain to you what pi is and after four attempts you still asked me why I didn't just make the pie instead of explain it!" Logan added. I looked down a little._

"_Okay, so I'm not the smart guy of this group. And I'm not the best singer or dancer." I directed towards James. "But I am not stupid. And do you want to know why I put so much effort into this? Because I wanted to make you all proud of me, just once. Just once I wanted to be the one people cheered for. I never meant to get a higher grade than you, Logan. And I never meant for Gustavo to only yell at you guys. For once I just wanted to feel good about myself." I could tell the guys were already beginning to feel guilty as it shone through their eyes._

_I shook my head and started to turn around. "I know I'll never be as smart as Logan or as handsome as James or as confident like Kendall. So I just wanted this one moment where people could be proud of me. And I worked extra hard so the three of you would be proud of me. Especially you, Logan. I would have never gotten such good grades if it hadn't been for you. So as a thank you I wanted to show you I could do it alone now. And you want to hear something really funny? The only reason I chose Batman as my favorite person in the whole world, was because I didn't want to choose between the three of you." I said that last sentence as quietly as possible, the pain in my voice clear as day while I opened the front door and shut it behind me._

_I walked away as fast as I could. I started to run when I reached the lobby, not caring how angry Bitters was yelling at me. I just opened the doors open and ran a fast as I could without a destination in mind._

_When I finally stopped running, I realized I had tears pouring out of my eyes. I panted and stopped, resting my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. When I finally looked up, it was dark outside. I didn't even realize I had been running that long. And far…_

_I suddenly saw my surroundings and felt panic rise up. I didn't recognize anything around me. Fear took over as I suddenly felt alone and utterly lost._

_I looked around with wide eyes. Where did I come from? Maybe I could just run back. So I turned around and started to run a little. But was that the right way?_

_I stopped and turned again, started to run the other way. But I stopped again. Because no matter how hard I tried, I didn't know where I was and I definitely didn't know how to get home._

_Suddenly I was very much aware of my cell phone in my packet. It was vibrating nonstop. I reached inside my pocket and read the name. Kendall. I sighed and closed my eyes._

_Now wasn't the time. I so much wanted to pick up and cry for them to come and help me. But I was done being helpless. I wasn't stupid and I had to prove to them that I could handle things on my own. So I put the phone back in my pocket and looked around again._

"_Okay." I said to myself. "I can do this. Just look around and try to focus." I did that and tried to see things that could help me find my way._

_But all I could see was strange streets, unfamiliar noises and a lot of darkness._

_Everything seemed to come at me. All shapes I saw looked like they wanted to grab me, hurt me and panic started to take over. I could hear a voice inside my head that told me to just call for help. But instead I started to run again._

_I ran without looking and suddenly I heard voices. I looked up and saw I had run into an alleyway. Those are never a good idea. Especially at night, in a part of LA you don't know. I could hear footsteps behind me and voices I didn't recognize. _

_I had to hide myself. So I tried to run further into the alley and then found the worst result of all; a dead end. _

"_Shit, shit!" I cursed to myself and I could feel my heart beating faster, it was practically thumping out of my chest. I looked around for a place to hide. My eyes widened when I saw huge garbage dumpsters. "Perfect!" I was about to dive behind them._

"_Hey you!" A voice boomed behind me. I could feel myself starting to shake. What would the other guys do? I decided I had to play it cool. I put on a fake smile and turned around to face my doom._

"_Hi…there." I almost laughed when I saw the two boys in front of me. They couldn't be older than Katie, so 11 at max. One was pale with dark eyes and brown hair. He would have reminded me of a young Logan, if it wasn't for the long scar down his right cheek. The other one was smaller, with black hair and dark skin._

_But I didn't laugh, because they might have looked young in their faces, but they were dressed like gangsters. Such a shame what a world of crime we live in nowadays. "Nice weather, huh?" I said with a smile, but I could hear rumbling in the sky up ahead._

"_No talking!" The smallest boy yelled. I looked closer and could tell both boys were nervous, maybe even scared. I held up my hands in defense or surrender, to show them I meant no harm._

"_Hey, it's alright. Look, I'm lost. I ran away from home and I don't know where I am. So how about you show me what street we're on and I'll get out of your way." I told them with a friendly, warm smile and started to walk._

"_I said, no talking!" I felt something digging into my back as the smallest of the boys yelled again._

"_Alright, alright. Stop poking me!" I chuckled slightly as whatever they were using kind of tickled. "Isn't it a little late for you to be out here by yourself?"_

"_Just shut up and give us your money!" To that I turned around in shock._

"_Wait, my money? I don't…" I froze when I finally saw what the small boy was holding. It might have been dark with just one streetlamp illuminating some objects. But I recognized a gun when I saw one. _

_My dad had showed plenty of them to me when I was younger. All not loaded of course. My dad just wanted to show me how dangerous the weapons were, he wasn't stupid enough to let me hold a loaded gun. He valued his life._

_I now held up my hands in surrender again, but my smile was faltering._

"_Whoa, where did you get that?" I asked, my voice sounding nervous._

"_It doesn't matter. Just give us your money." The kid told me._

"_Look, buddy, I don't have any…" I could suddenly hear the safety pin being loaded and started to tremble. "You know, guns are really dangerous. Maybe you should just give that to me." I said, hearing the cracking of my own voice, but hoping they wouldn't as I stepped an inch closer._

"_Don't move!" The boy shouted, but I gulped and slowly inched my way towards him. _

"_Easy now. You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to hurt you." I gently told him. I tried to stay as calm as possible, but I could feel my legs shaking with every step._

"_Sat away from me, just back off!" The boy said, but I could tell he was just as scared as I was._

"_Just give me the gun and we can all go home nicely." I said, putting on a small smile again. "Come on, just give me the gun." I held out my hand as I walked closer._

"_Just pull the trigger." The other boy suddenly said. I almost gasped, but I kept my focus on the boy holding the weapon._

"_You don't have to do that. Just hand it to me." The boy looked between his friend and me. I could tell he doubted on what to do._

"_Come on, you don't have to do this. Just give me the gun and we can all forget about this." I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. Where did I ever find the courage to do this? I sighed. "Okay, look, what's your name?" I asked next._

_The boy looked at his friend again, who shook his head, before turning to me. The gun was pointed up high and I knew I couldn't make any sudden mistakes._

"_Sam." He suddenly responded and I could hear the other boy sigh in exasperation. _

"_Okay, Sam. My name is Carlos and I am not here to hurt you, okay?" I told the boy in a gentle manner. I spoke to him like I would speak to a younger child. But the fear in his eyes made me feel compelled to do this. It worked on other kids… "Now I am going to walk slowly your way and take the gun from your hands before someone gets hurt, alright?" The boy looked nervous, but he didn't move as I was now inches away from him._

_I started to reach out my hand towards the gun._

"_Shoot. Just shoot!" Came the anxious cries from his friend beside him. But the boy didn't move._

_I almost had the gun when suddenly the other boy jumped towards the other boy and grabbed onto his hand. Fear set in as it was the same hand still holding the gun._

"_Don't do this, you don't…"_

"_No!" Is all I heard before a loud POP resonated in my ears. I was propelled backwards and I couldn't stop my body from falling to the ground. I was thrown backwards with enough force to make my helmet clatter against the dumpster and off of my head. A THUD as my back hit the ground, my head with it._

_I stared up at the sky as it was suddenly silent. _

"_Oh my god…" Sam gasped. _

"_Come, let's get out of here!" The other boy said and I could hear a clattering sound and then footsteps as the boys ran away._

_Soon I became aware of a wetness on my shirt. I slowly lifted a trembling hand to my chest and looked at it in the dark through squinted eyes. A dark substance was now on my hand. I could feel it seeping through shirt and slowly onto the ground beneath me._

_The pain didn't register until later…_

And here I am. Though it's probably been a few minutes, it feels like hours to me. It started to rain almost immediately after the boys left. How cliché…

I wasn't exactly expecting them to come back with help. I was hoping for it. But I knew they wouldn't. A faint buzzing sound was heard in the distance. I could feel my phone vibrating against my leg.

But I lay here, gasping for breath, without the strength to lift up my hand. I hope so very badly that someone just happens to walk past the alley and see me here. I need help, I want someone here with me. I don't want to feel so alone.

It seems like hours later when I hear more noises. I am vaguely aware of them as I start to drift away into the darkness. But as I nearly close my eyes, I hear something that makes me want to stay awake longer.

"Carlos? Carlos, where are you?" A voice yells in the distance. Did I pick up my phone by mistake?

"I swear, the signal says he should be somewhere in this area." Another voice sounds.

"Somewhere in this area doesn't really help, Logan." James! James' voice sounds angry. Were they actually worried?

"Well, I'm sorry okay. I didn't invent this stupid technology, I just know how to use it!" Logan sounds so upset. Is he crying again?

"Guys! Fighting each other won't help us find him. Just keep looking." Kendall, always taking charge.

I want to call out for them, but when I open my mouth, only a pathetic whimper comes out. They'll never hear that. I smile. My friends are here. They came for me.

"Carlos?" Kendall's voice yells out again.

I open my mouth again, but I hiss as pain shoots through me once again.

"What about in here?" James calls out.

"Hey, don't just walk in there, don't you know how dangerous that is?" Logan calls after him.

Suddenly I can hear footsteps closer to me followed by a loud gasp.

"Oh my god… Carlos?" I am now aware of strong hands grabbing me. But I can tell the person is shaking already. "Logan, he's here... Get Kendall!" He shouts as I feel dizzy again. "Carlos, can you hear me? It's me, James. Carlos?"

I whimper, not able to make a sound as my friends start to surround me.

"Oh god… Is that… Is that blood?" Kendall's scared voice sounds like a faint whisper.

"Carlos?" Logan's voice sounds right next to me now. "James, hold his head. Kendall, give me your jacket." That's Logan for you, always going straight into doctor mode.

I can feel hands gently picking up my head and letting it land on something soft, but hard at the same time. James' lap. Strange how I can feel all of this while feeling strangely numb at the same time.

"Carlos, you're gonna be okay, buddy." James croaks as one of his hands starts to run through my hair gently.

Pressure is suddenly put on my chest and it sends a searing pain throughout my body. I squeeze my eyes shut as my breath hitches.

"I'm sorry, Litos, but I have to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding..." Logan softly explains.

"m sorry.." I mutter as my body trembles.

"What, what was that?" James asks from above me.

"m sorry for the essay…" I croak as I feel a coughing spree come on.

"The essay? Oh god, no, Carlos… Don't be sorry about that... We, we were jerks... You got an A, buddy… I-I should have been proud of you, you did so well… I'm the one that's sorry..." Logan mumbles while keeping pressure on my chest. I can feel his hands shaking. I pick up a trembling hand of my own, laying it on top of his.

I gently squeeze it and try to focus my eyes on him. When I finally find him, I try a small smile. I don't know if it's still the rain, but when I look at my soaked friend, droplets of water pour down his face.

Then the coughing spree finally hits me. My whole body jerks, as I feel liquid coming up my throat. I try to roll over, needing to get it out. James and Logan are both there with me, trying to soothe me while holding me. It hurts so very much and when the coughing subsides, it hurts to breathe.

I look at Logan again and frown a little at his horror stricken eyes. I look up and see James trembling and looking really pale. Turning my eyes away, I try to locate Kendall. When I don't see him, I try to sit up. Two pair of hands gently push me back down.

"Okay, I've called an ambulance, they're on their way." As if he knew, Kendall is suddenly there. He kneels down next to Logan, eyes filled with concern. "How is he?" He turns to Logan, but Logan doesn't respond.

I smile.

"K-Kenny…" I mutter and he quickly changes his gaze towards me. I see a flash of fear cross his features, but he just gulps and puts on a smile.

"Hey, buddy..." he grabs my right hand and gently squeezes it. Droplets of rain cascade down his face as well now. Or are they tears. "We can't leave you alone for two minutes, huh?" He playfully jokes before sniffing.

I grin slightly. "I g-guess I'm j-jjust trou-ble, h-huh?" I stutter. It's becoming harder to speak now. I feel so cold.

"I-'m gl-lad you g-guys are h-ere…" I say before coughing again just once. I can feel the liquid seeping out of my mouth, the rain washing it away. I know what it is and finally I know why my friends look so terrified. They know what is happening.

"Shh, don't talk, okay? The ambulance will get here really soon and they'll take you to the hospital and you'll be good as new. Okay?" Kendall tells me with a smile through his tears.

I suddenly hear a sob from above me. More droplets fall onto my face, but I know it's not water.

"J-jamiie?" I croak. "It'ss sokay…" I try to soothe while looking up as much as I can. His face is still hidden from my view, but I can tell from his shaking hands on my head that he's crying. "Pleass don't c-cry... Iss okay..."

Finally he leans down towards me. He tries a smile, but it looks so forced through his tears.

"Just hold on, alright? They'll be here… You just have to hold on... You can't... You can't give up, Carlos, you can't..." He hiccups through his sobs.

I turn my eyes back down to where Logan is now solely focusing on trying to stop my bleeding.

"L-logie?" I question, but he looks very serious and focused. I can tell he doesn't want to look at me. "L-logie…" I try again and put my hand on his a second time.

"What is taking them so long? This is going to leave a scar if they take much longer. If I just keep pressure on it long enough, I can stop the bleeding. But you're cold, so they should bring a blanket…" he mumbles.

"You're g-going to be a gr-reat doct-tor ssome dday…" I tell him with a smile. "P-romise me you w-won't give up-p on that..."

He slowly turns his eyes towards me. They are wide, filled with pain and fear.

"I can't-" He starts, shaking his head.

"P-promisse m-me you'll t-tell C-Camille how you ffeel and you're more than s-marts, Logie…" I tell him with my eyes looking sincere.

"You're going to be okay, Carlos… I won't have to promise anything. You're going to be okay and we'll be Big Time Rush… I can't... You..." He starts to silently sob as well now and his voice goes higher and softer.

"K-kenny?" I try and look at Kendall now. He gulps again and I can tell he is trying to stay strong. His hand is trembling in mine and he now puts his other hand on top of the other.

"I'm here, buddy..." He tells me with yet another smile.

"I've a-always admired y-your st-rength... Y-ou're a r-really g-good fffriend... G—iv Ka-katie a k-kiss for mmme…" I mutter.

"Carlos…"

"Y-ou've a-always protected us f-from harm… But p-promise if you n-need hhelp, you'll a-ask for it…"

I send my pleading eyes his way. He sighs and looks away for a moment. "I promise…" He whispers.

"No..No no…" I can hear above me.

"J-james…"

"No… you can't do this… why are you talking like that? You can't give up... I don't want to say goodbye to you... Who will I play pranks with and act all crazy and hit on girls…" He hiccups.

"Iss okay, J-jamie.. Y'uour more t-han just looks... Y-your s-mart and f-funny and d-on't f-forget that…" My vision swims for a moment and I close my eyes. I open them right after, but I am so cold now. I can't even feel the pain anymore. I smile.

"I'm so sorry Carlos… If I hadn't been so selfish today, none of this would've happened…" Logan tells me.

"S not your f-fault, Logie.." I assure him with another smile. I know I shouldn't be smiling. But I can't help it. It's a part of me and I'm not even scared for some reason.

"Please stay awake, Carlos… I-I can hear the sirens already, they'll be here so soon, you need to stay awake... just don't give up..."

"T-Tell mama Knight and my family t-that I l-love them..."

"Carlos, please…" Logan hiccups. "Oh god…" He sobs harder now and Kendall takes the time to use one of his hands to pull Logan close to him.

"I l-love you guys... y-you're the bestgt b-rbrotherss I've ever had.." Tears spill down from my own eyes now as all three my friends hold on to me.

I look over at my friends one more time. James cries as he holds me and Kendall is now silently sobbing as well, while holding a shaking Logan.

I can feel everything slowly ebbing away. I keep a smile on my face as I close my eyes and finally let go…

**A/N Wow. That was way more intense than I meant for it to be. I am so sorry for that ending. I can't help but love really dramatic writing and I couldn't help but end it this way. Please don't kill me for it :P**

**Anyway, this story was fully dedicated to freakycutiecarlos, who requested this. Sorry again to you, because I'm somehow thinking you wanted them to actually rescue him. Yeah… sorry.**

**Hope nobody kills me for this and I hope the ending was somewhat realistic. I wasn't sure how else he could say goodbye to them. There's so much to say, yet nothing at all, I think, you know?**

**Okay, I need to go to sleep. So enjoy this one and I'll go on to other stories. If anyone has more Carlos-angst ideas, let me know. I love reading them, but I also love writing them!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	8. Final Goodbye

Final Goodbye

The sky is dark, grey, rumbling can be heard in the distance. How is that the weather always seems to adapt itself to horrible days like these? A large group of people stands and sits in the rain, umbrellas in their hands. Everyone is dressed in dark clothing. Some people cry in the front, others console them, while some just stare.

One Hispanic teenager stares intently as they lower the casket into the ground. The minister's voice is very far away. Everyone's voice sounds far away. Somewhere in his fogged up mind he notices his mother breaking down in his father's arms. And him, the strong police officer with anger management issues cries right along with her.

Carlos Garcia watches them with a stoic face. It's not the first time he has seen them cry. In fact, for the last few years it's all they have been doing. He himself has cried a lot of times as well. But not today. Today he doesn't know what he's feeling. He feels betrayed, that's one thing. She never deserved any of this. She was just a child. The sweetest and most beautiful soul he had ever come across, yet she wasn't meant to stay in this world. It's just not fair…

He keeps his eyes trained on the dark hole which now holds his young sister. Beautiful and amazing Aubrey Garcia, only 9 years old. He had a special bond with her from the moment she was born. It never mattered that they were 7 years apart. And it didn't matter how no one understood. All that mattered was that they understood. She was his inspiration, the reason he was still so carefree and happy and innocent, even at 16 years old. He lit up the room with his infectious smile wherever he went and it was all because of her.

She was diagnosed with Leukemia early on in her life, at only 2 years old. It was hard to deal with, seeing her go through chemo for all these years, every time hearing she might not make it another week. But she did, for 7 more years. And she always went through the entire ordeal with a smile. Carlos doesn't really know why they had such a strong bond, but the moment her eyes closed one last time, was the moment it seemed like the air and all the fun just got sucked from the earth.

He is vaguely aware of a hand grasping his shoulder in a comforting way. He looks up from the grave and notices everyone has left already. Everyone except for his three best friends. Kendall throws him a sympathetic smile and squeezes his shoulder again in support. The others throw him worried glances. He ignores all of them and walks towards the grave. He ignores the rain which has already soaked him. Logan hurries after him with an umbrella, but he doesn't care. He looks down one last time and lets out a heavy sigh, before throwing in the white rose he has been crumbling in his clenched fist.

The world truly has gone darker. It has lost color ever since it lost Aubrey's captivating soul. It's been three weeks since her funeral and Carlos is in no way, shape or form getting over it. In fact, he feels more and more numb as it processes in his mind. He did make the decision in going back to LA with his best friends, where they are a band, Big Time Rush. Not that he wants to be a band right now, but it's better than watching his parents cry and fight and basically see his family falling apart.

Back at the Palm Woods he just sits on his bed and stares ahead. The guys have tried everything to cheer him up. They tried a puppet show, which he normally would have loved. But it reminded him so much of Aubrey, that he eventually grabbed the puppets from his friend's hands and ripped them to shreds.

Mrs. Knight made him corndogs and dinosaur shaped chicken. But he couldn't eat it. He hasn't had much of an appetite lately, which is saying a lot.

They have tried to get him to go outside. He did go once. But then everyone just became so loud and they were all laughing and having so much fun, he couldn't take and left. Life isn't fun anymore. Bad things happen to good people and then everything is screwed up.

He knows he is scaring his friends and family. He can tell they are worried about him and has even heard them discussing it a few times. Logan even mentioned a therapist. They can try, but he'll never agree to that. He doesn't want to talk about it or think about it. He just wants everyone to leave him the hell alone.

As soon as the apartment is empty, he heads into the living room and sits down on the orange couch and turns on the TV. He used to watch cartoons with her, especially during her worst times, just to cheer her up. It's that reason and haunting memory that has him switching to the Discovery channel. Not that he really watches whatever boring documentary they are showing, he just needs some noise, anything to feel remotely alive.

It's hours later when his laughing friends return and find him staring blankly at the screen. Their smiles fade right away as they head to sit with him.

Logan stares at him in concern, like he's some messed up mental patient and sighs deeply. Carlos resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"I'm fine." Is what he always replies with in the same monotone voice he has been using for weeks.

"Carlos, we're just worried about you. I mean, we know you're hurting, but…" Kendall carefully starts.

"You're scaring the crap out of us, dude." Kendall shoots James a glare. But he just sends a challenging look back. "Oh come on, it's what all of us have been thinking for weeks now. It's about time someone said it out loud."

Kendall does roll his eyes, when James moves in front of Carlos vision.

"Look, we get that you're still grieving about Aubrey. But dude, you are freaking us out. I mean, you're like a freaking zombie. You hardly eat, you just sit on your bed all day long, barely saying two words and worst of all, you don't even smile anymore. Heck, you don't show any emotions. Just talk to us, dude. We want to help…" James says in all honesty, sighing in relief to finally get this off his chest.

"I'm fine." Carlos replies once again. This is the last straw for Kendall. Had he wanted to be gentle with the Latino before, he has had enough of it now. He moves to sit in front of Carlos and grabs his shoulders roughly.

"You are not fine, Carlos. You're in pain, because your sister died. We all know you teo shared a special bond, but this is insane. You need to snap out of it. She wouldn't want you to be like this, 'Litos. She would want you to be happy." He tells his friend, who finally looks him straight in the eye.

"Happy?" He asks, narrowing his eyes. "You want me to be happy?" He asks louder as he stands up. "She was 9 years old, Kendall and she died from cancer. She was the most beautiful person I ever met and she died. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve any of the suffering she went through." He says, anger finally making its way to the surface. "You know, I used to think the world was beautiful and so full of life and joy. But now? You know what I see when I look out that window?" He asks as he points towards the huge windows to their right. "I see a world full of pain and anger and people suffering and dying, some doing horrible things. People treating each other like dirt and then I realize it is a good thing she is dead, because it would kill me to see her grow up some day and realize the same thing."

The guys stare at him in stunned silence.

"Carlos, there aren't just bad things in the world, there are so many good things, too." Logan offers.

"Oh yeah, like what?" He challenges back.

"Well, like watching a beautiful sunrise and kittens being born and the Palm Woods pool?" Logan offers with a small smile as he adds the last one as a joke. Carlos doesn't return his smile, in fact, he downright just stares his friend down until his smile vanishes and he shrinks into the couch a little.

"Did you know that some people hate newborn kittens or puppies so much, they just kill them? And not even fast or anything. No, they put them all in a bag and throw them into a lake, just for example." The guys look horrified that he even knows this information. "I used to think the world was all puppies and rainbows. But guess what? It isn't!" He snaps, before turning on his heels and storming to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

The guys remain seated on the couch another moment in bewilderment.

"Ok, this is worse than we thought, isn't it?" Kendall asks quietly. The other two just nod in agreement. "He's not just grieving, he's giving up…"

Needless to say, the guys try everything in their power to get their friend to talk to them, release his feelings, so he can get over this. But as time progresses, they can only watch helplessly as he sinks further and further into a shadow of the person he once was.

They watch as his side of the bedroom he shares with James becomes plain, grey looking. His posters are found in the trash, along with his toys. He doesn't even look at Swirly anymore and uses the staircase instead, which breaks their hearts. But the most heart wrenching moment is when Logan finds Carlos' precious helmet, one everyone vowed he couldn't live without, discarded in a dumpster outside.

Carlos tries so hard to get rid of everything that reminds him of her, hoping it will make the pain go away. He can feel himself ebbing away in the process, but he doesn't know how to cope with this broken feeling. He watched her die right in front of him and now slowly can feel himself doing the same. He wonders if his friends have noticed it's become that bad.

Like any other night, he doesn't get any sleep. And why should he, since he doesn't have the energy to do anything during the day? So he lies there and his mind is flooded with thoughts about how much this must be hurting his family. The family here with him at the Palm Woods though, not the actual one in Minnesota. The one where his other siblings have just moved on and think it's better this way. And the one where his parents have decided to get a divorce, because they don't love each other anymore. No, he has decided not to care about them, just like they don't care about Aubrey.

But the small family he has here, that's a whole different story. They mean the world to him and he can't stand to see them so upset. He knows they want to help and he wants nothing more than to reach out and grab hold of them and let them pull him back to the surface. But he is already too far gone now.

He slowly gets up and quietly makes his rounds past their bedrooms, something he has been doing a lot lately. He has become quite good at it, too, making sure no one hears him as he watches them all sleep.

But tonight it's different. Tonight he leaves them all an envelope containing personal letters, hopefully explaining why. He knows they probably won't understand and they'll be mad at him, disappointed. But he doesn't see a light at the end of this dark tunnel and he can't hold on any longer.

After making sure everyone is still sound asleep, he heads for the bathroom and locks the door behind him. He barricades the door, just in case. He sighs one more time, before sliding into the tub and turning on the faucet. He's glad they soundproofed this room because of Mrs. Knight's excessive off key singing habits. It'll buy him more time.

He lays his head on the edge as his clothes slowly start to become heavy and soaked and ponders about his past.

He can see flashes of himself. He was only 7 when she was born. He was curious to no end when they were allowed into his mother's hospital room. The moment his father showed her to him, he knew she was special. When she looked at him with her own big brown eyes, their special connection was made. He vowed to protect her and be the best big brother anyone has ever seen, despite having two other younger siblings, but they didn't really matter. Not like she did.

He was always a rambunctious child, who was made to wear a helmet so he wouldn't hurt himself. But he surprised everyone by being ever so gentle when he was around Aubrey, always doting on her and protecting her from her older siblings. It wasn't really a surprise that her first word was 'los'.

He was so happy and always proud to show his sister off to anyone, including his three best friends. But they weren't allowed to touch her, ever.

His whole world came crashing down when she was two. She became sick a lot and no one could figure out why. Until they did some tests at the hospital and found out that she had Leukemia, cancer. It was something he didn't understand, maybe didn't want to understand. He just wanted to kiss her to make it better, but his parents explained that wasn't how it worked. He tried nonetheless. He kept on trying for the whole 7 years.

He stayed by her side while she went through her treatments. He was always right there when she was in pain and needed someone to cheer her up. He would watch cartoons with her or sing to her or make her laugh. In return she smiled the whole way through and supported her big brother in everything he did.

When the moment came that he was allowed to go to LA with his friends to become a band, he absolutely refused. He couldn't just leave her. He even opted for her to come with him. But that was when she refused and told him to go for it. He deserved it and she knew he would be great.

He never cried harder than the moment he said goodbye and got on that plane. Sure, they talked every day on the phone and through FaceTime. But it wasn't the same. He did make sure to visit her with every birthday. Just seeing her face light up when he walked into their backyard unannounced just made him forget about anything else.

The doctors had told them countless of times that she wouldn't pull through another month. But she fought so hard and held on for seven years. He saw it coming though. He noticed how she looked more and more tired every time he talked to her. She looked paler, sicker. But the biggest sign of all was that the sparkle in her eyes was starting to fade. She was trying to fight back, but she no longer had the energy to keep it going.

When his parents told him she only had a few more days left at the most, he took the first flight back home. But the moment he rushed into the waiting room, he knew he was too late. His mother was already sobbing uncontrollably. His father looked a mess. He burst into her room and broke down as he saw her lying there, so pale and still. The life washed right out of her. He threw himself on the bed and clung to her for dear life, brushing his fingers through her curly black hair.

His family had to pry him off of her, as he wailed and completely fell to pieces. His own spark died right there in that hospital bed, after which everything looked different.

Her laughter fills his ears and he finds himself smiling along as the water starts to reach his chin. He smiles as he feels tears flowing freely down his cheeks and his body shakes from the cold and the sobs. Slowly he sinks further into the water, keeping his eyes open while memories of his friends and family flash before his eyes.

When Kendall wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, he is vaguely aware of an envelope with his name on it sitting on his nightstand. He moves to open it, when he remembers he really needs to go to the bathroom. He stumbles into the dark hallway sleepily, yawning and rubbing his face as he goes along.

Just then, he becomes aware of his feet being cold and… wet?

"What the…" He mumbles as he searches for the light switch. He is blinded for a moment as the lights come on, but after blinking heavily, he gets used to it and looks down. "What in the world?" He wonders as he stares at the growing pool of water seeping from underneath the bathroom door.

Then his eyes widen in realization and he rushes for the door. "Oh god, please no…" He pleads quietly to himself as he tries to jiggle the door handle. Locked. He can feel panic setting in as he slams into the door with his shoulder as hard as he can. It hurts like hell, but he doesn't care and tries again. It won't budge, which has him panicking even more.

"No, no, no, come on, open, just open!" He yells at the door frantically as he slams into it again and again.

"Dude, what is going on?" Logan suddenly croaks from the bedroom door.

"What's with all the noise?" James asks as well as he joins his smart friend.

"The door is locked…" Is all Kendall can utter as tears have started to run down his face already. Logan and James' eyes widen as they witness the water still seeping from underneath the bathroom door and Kendall's frantic attempts to open the door.

"Oh god…" Logan calls out as he heads for the kitchen to find anything to help them open the lock. James stands watching, frozen to the spot as he can feel it in his stomach.

"Do something!" Kendall calls out.

"I'm trying!" Logan calls back as he searches every drawer and cabinet for anything to help them. "Shit…" He squeaks as tears leak out. Finally he finds a pin and hurries towards the door, careful not to slip on the water.

"Hurry up, Logan…" Kendall pleads desperately as Logan tries to work on the lock as fast as he can.

When they finally hear the click of the lock, they let out breathes they didn't know they were holding and try to open the door. Kendall pushes and lets out a frustrating cry when he can't open it.

"What the fuck!" he cries out. "Why won't it open?" James watches as Logan tries to calm down the breaking version of Kendall, while trying not to fall apart himself.

"Stand aside…" Is all he says to make his friends move away from the door. He takes a small leap and then runs at the door in full speed, breaking whatever barricade that was holding the door shut.

The door swings open and for a moment they stare in shock and the world stands still. The bathtub is still overflowing as they see the shape of their best friend underneath the surface.

Then, Kendall springs into action and rushes forward to pull him out.

"Oh god, don't do this to us, no… why would you do this?" He cries as he pulls the limp and heavy body out of the water. Logan rushes forward to turn off the water, while James grabs a phone and starts to dial 911 with shaking fingers.

"Come on, Carlos, breathe…" Kendall pleads as he starts CPR. Logan can't do anything but sit on the floor and stare as the blond tries to revive their best friend. He can't find his voice to speak out that it's no use. His lips are already completely blue and his skin ashen. So he sits helplessly as Kendall tries again and again to get their friend back to life.

Never did they realize it was this bad. They thought he just needed time. It's what they all thought, until they watched as the paramedics placed the sheet over him. The whole of Palm Woods was ruptured that night as everyone stared as he was wheeled out. Five people didn't stay and watch. They all sat in quiet corners by themselves, some together and opened their personal goodbye letters.

He left more of them, for his family members, telling them that he's sorry, but he wants them to be happy. It's for the best, he's in a better place now.

It's strange, watching your own funeral taking place. And it's so hard to watch how everyone cries and looks so broken. He never realized he had that much of an impact on so many people. He listens and laughs at the stories his friends tell about him in their eulogies. He ponders for a moment whether he made the right decision. But then he realizes for the first time since Aubrey died, he feels alive again. And this is only increased when a small hand grabs his.

He looks down and smiles at his sister. She beams at him and after looking at everyone one last time, they turn around and walk away…

**A/N Yeah my hands are numb from writing this all in one go, while being really tired. But I just couldn't stop. This one shot is dedicated to Artic-Fox 14 for the idea and the inspiration Thanks so much for that and I hope it came out the way you hoped **

**Let me know what you guys think and thanks so much for the reviews and alerts and such. I've been having some tough times lately trying to figure out what to do with my life. And stuff like this help me through it **

**So let me know what you think of this one and keep the ideas coming ;)**

**Love, Baxxie**


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